Beacon's Effect 3: Awakening
by Tusken1602
Summary: Sequel to Beacon's Effect 2: Reborn. With Shepard awake and the events of Mass Effect 2 kicking off, Ko'le and Shepard must assemble their allies and face the challenge of the Collectors and the ever-looming threat of the Reapers. Rated M for language, violence, and "other stuff." I do not own Mass Effect or any of its characters. SEQUEL NOW UPLOADED- Beacon's Effect 4: Reckoning!
1. Chapter 1: Welcome Aboard, Commander

This is a sequel to Beacon's Effect and Beacon's Effect 2: Reborn. If you have not read those stories, nothing you are about to read will make sense to you. Please go read those stories first, and let me know what you think! If you HAVE read those stories, welcome back! - Tusken1602

and Yes, this is the same as Chapter 25 of Beacon's Effect 2: Reborn. I just wanted to put up a chapter so my readers could find and follow BE3: Awakening.

* * *

 _ **Pain.**_

 _ **Pain and suffering.**_

 _ **Always this has been our fate, Ko'le: To serve and to suffer. Why?**_

 _ **To what end?**_

 _-To survive, Beast. -_

 _=NO! To SAVE THEM! To SAVE the Universe!=_

 _-Kevin… the loop is closed. Our very existence proves that our plan has failed. If we succeeded, there would not have been a future out of which to pull us-_

 _=Wow. If I had a week, I couldn't list all the reasons why that statement is wrong…. =_

 _ **Why should we save any of them? They are nothing more than fictional characters in the world YOU came from. The ending of the Mass Effect 3 may have sucked, but at least it was an end. The Reapers will be defeated, with our without us.**_

 _=But Levi said…=_

 _-WHY SHOULD WE TRUST A GIANT TIME-TRAVELING CUTTLEFISH? HE had ANY time he could have intervened in! Why would he choose a twenty-five year old boy from Manassas, Virginia to throw into the Mass Effect Universe? Why didn't he choose someone from LAST cycle? Or the FIRST cycle? Why not defeat the Reapers before they were EVER MADE?! WHY US? WHY NOW?!-_

 _ **WHY?**_

 _-WHY?-_

 _ **WHY?**_

* * *

* **STARLIGHT STATION*  
IN ORBIT ABOVE KAHJE**

I could not _wait_ to get some god-damn answers.

Jacob had been helpful enough. He had come by and we had chatted about what had gone on while I had been on ice. A lot had happened.

A _whole lot_ had happened:

Apparently, Ko'le and his Conclave had reawakened a group of Protheans, given the planet Ilos to the quarians as a new homeworld (in exchange for quarian membership in the Conclave), and eradicated piracy in the Terminus Systems.

All of this was on top of introducing the Thorians, the Rachni, the Raloi, and a rogue GETH faction to the rest of the galaxy.

Oh, yeah, and Ko'le private security force, the Immortals? They had now taken over Cerberus.

The same Cerberus that had _killed_ Admiral Kohoku, and was directly responsible for death of my squad-mates on Akuze.

Oh, yeah, Ko'le had a _lot_ of explaining to do. Especially since Miranda wasn't proving extremely talkative.

Oh, she was nice, all right, I don't mean she was a _total_ bitch. But there was a kind of stand-offish-ness to her, as well. If we were going to keep working together, she and I were going to have to have a talk.

Also, she would have to learn that "The Imperator will explain everything" was _not_ an acceptable answer to my questions anymore.

But now, here we were, riding the elevators up to the Imperator's Quarters here on Starlight Station. Have to say, Ko'le hadn't done badly for himself, if the gold-plated _everything_ on this station was any indication.

The doors opened, and a young drell was standing behind the desk.

"Director Lawson…" he began, getting to his feet.

"We're expected, Krios," Miranda said dismissively.

"But ma'am…"

"We're _expected…._ "

"He's NOT WELL!" Krios said desperately, panic breaking through his demeanor.

Miranda paused.

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"Is he sick?" I asked.

"No, ma'am…uh….ma'ams…" Krios answered, looking horribly uncomfortable. "Just that… ever since the mission to Heshtok… he's… he's… not been himself. He's babbling to himself, having conversations with people who _aren't there_. Something's _wrong_ …. He asked me to send for General Javik. And he was _scared_. Very SCARED. I've never seen him scared before…."

Miranda nodded thoughtfully.

"Thank you, Private Krios," she said. "Send Javik in when he arrives."

"Yes, ma'am."

Miranda looked back at me.

"What do you make of it?" I asked. "'Scared' doesn't sound like the Ko'le I knew."

"Nor the one I know," agreed Miranda. "Let's go get our answers from the source, shall we?"

The doors opened to reveal a dark room, illuminated only by the sunlight coming in from the massive windows on one side of it. A lone figure stood in front of the window, hands crossed behind his back. From his dreads alone, I could have recognized him.

"Ko'le?" I said gently, as the doors closed behind us.

"LIGHTS," the figure said loudly, causing Miranda and I to start. The lights in the room came on, brightening up the whole place. Ko'le turned his head, and then whirled around to face us.

"Welcome back, Shepard," he said walking forward. That warm smile of his lit up his face, and I couldn't help returning it. He opened his arms wide. "It's so good to see….."

Suddenly, pain twisted his features into an anguished sob, and he went to one knee. Miranda and I started forward to help him, but then suddenly he looked up at us.

And his eyes were glowing white.

"OH MY GOD," he said, but his voice was… _different_ somehow. "Shepard… you're back already? Wow… no scarring on her face…. Way earlier than the game…"

"Uhh… what?" I asked, genuinely confused.

"Two years, 3 months, eight days," Ko'le continued, "That's how long it takes… that's how long it took…"

"Ko'le, what are you saying?" Miranda asked, slowly walking forward still.

Ko'le's eyes went back to their normal state and he straightened up back to his normal self.

"It's good to see you back, old friend," he said, that _different_ lilt to his voice gone. "We will need you in the fight that is to come."

"And what fight is that?" I asked, still trying to grasp what the hell was going on.

Ko'le's eyes went pitch black, right in front of us.

" **The only fight that matters,"** a VERY different voice spoke. **"The Fallen come. Beast kill, but they come again. Rise again, kill again. Beast hunts. BEAST KILLS!"**

Ko'le's green-black biotics swirled around him. Miranda flared her own biotics and stepped in between Ko'le and I as I stepped back, somewhat in shock.

"Ok… who are you, and what have you done with Ko'le?" she demanded. I reached to the small of my back, my pistol deploying. I didn't know what was going on, exactly, but _that_ wasn't the Ko'le I knew or remembered.

The eyes went back to normal, and Ko'le started panting hard. Only now did I notice the sweat pouring down his forehead and face.

"You… should go… Miranda…. Shepard…. Until I can… find… some way to fix this… I mean… him… I mean, us… Dammit!"

"Fix _WHAT_?" Miranda asked.

"Ko'le, what's going on?" I asked. "How can we help?"

The eyes turned white again.

"We are… They are… fighting for control…" the _other_ voice said.

 _Was that a kid's voice?_ I thought, but then the door opened behind us. I turned, and got one of the biggest shocks of my life:

A four-eyed alien with a lobster's head was walking towards us, in armor that matched Ko'le's, except it was red where Ko'le's was black.

"What is going on here?" he demanded. His Basic almost had a… Jamaican accent. It threw me off for a second, but Miranda answered.

"Ko'le's not well," she said. "There's someone else in there with him. At least _two_ someones."

The alien narrowed his eyes, then turned to Ko'le.

"Brother, what ails?" he asked, genuine concern and worry in his voice.

Ko'le's eyes went back to normal.

" _Brother_ ," he panted, straining with each word. " _Lock. Him. Down."_

"Who?"

The eyes went black again.

" **BEAST!"**

All four of the alien's eyes went wide, and unmasked _fear_ , bordering on _terror_ , came across his expression for a second. Then he stood back, flaring his biotics and _his eyes_ turned white.

" _EEH DECUOM NOS MEH!"_ he bellowed, raising a hand palm-first toward Ko'le.

Ko'le's eyes rolled into the back of his head and he collapsed, unconscious. There was a moment when we were all looking back and forth at one another.

"Ok… what the hell just happened?" I finally asked. "And who the hell are you?"

"General Javik, Commander Shepard," introduced Miranda. "Shepard, this General Javik of the Reborn Protheans.

 _A living, breathing Prothean. Liara would love this…_

"Javik."

"Commander," Javik said, returning my nod. "Ko'le has spoken highly of you. I hope you are worth the _considerable_ resources he expended to bring you back."

"What is wrong with Ko'le?" I asked. "What did you _do_ to him?"

Javik sighed, as if weighing whether or not to trust me. Then apparently he made up his mind.

"Ko'le possesses two distinct personalities, Commander. One is the commander, _Seneschal_ , and brother we both know and have fought alongside. But… before that… he was Beast. You have been to your… Mars Archives?"

"Yes," I confirmed, "With Ko'le, actually."

Javik's eyes widened in surprise.

"Indeed? I am surprised he was able to go there again. Yes… that is where Beast was born. A living weapon to be pointed at the Reapers and expended. Very few knew the Master Words to arm and disarm that weapon. I am the only one to survive the Great Sleep."

"Is he going to be ok?" I asked. "I have a _lot_ of questions that I'm told only he can answer."

"I can imagine, Commander," Javik said, and his tone was gentler, almost soothing. "But I do not know who will awaken from the slumber I have placed him in: Ko'le, or Beast. And you said there was a third?" he asked turning to Miranda.

"That seemed to be the case," Miranda said, still looking down at Ko'le. "He said 'they' were fighting for control, as if there were at least two more personalities in there with him."

"What do we do with him in the meantime?" I asked.

Javik rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "If Ko'le is fighting his own mind, there is only one being in the galaxy who could help him. The Mind-Healers of Thoros were famous for their abilities to fight Reaper-damaged minds. There is now only one Thorian left on that planet, as I understand."

"Protector-of-the-Weak," I agreed, shuddering internally at the memory, "We've met."

Javik _almost_ grinned.

"So I have heard. It is past time that _I_ meet him as well, then."

Suddenly, a button on Ko'le's desk started beeping and flashing. Miranda strode over and looked over at Javik, who nodded, lifting Ko'le up with his biotics. Taking him in his arms, he walked out of the doors, calling for Private Krios. The doors closed, and Miranda hit the flashing button. A holographic image of a seated man appeared on the far side of the room.

 _No…. not him._

"Director Lawson, good to see you again," General Oleg Petrovsky said warmly.

"General," Miranda replied, nodding. Her whole demeanor had suddenly gone cold and distinctly professional.

"And Commander Shepard," he said turning to me. "You have no idea how relieved I am to see you standing there. It's been… a long time."

"General Petrovsky," I answered, throwing a salute out of plain muscle-memory habit. "I hadn't heard that you had joined the Conclave, sir."

"Your friend Ko'le convinced me to… come out of retirement," Petrovsky said, smiling. "I wanted to talk to you about your next steps and introduce you to Operation Awakening."

"Sir," Miranda objected. "Operation Awakening is under the purview of the office of _Imperator_. Perhaps we should wait until Imperator Ko'le…"

"Imperator Ko'le called me just moments ago, Director," Petrovsky soothed. "Directive 314 has been initiated."

A document appeared on the left hand side of the screen.

"It bears the signatures of all the Circle members. As of two hours ago, the office of _interim_ Imperator has fallen to me, in Ko'le's absence. He informed us that his injuries on Heshtok were more serious than first anticipated. Until his return, all files and operation reports have been forwarded to me."

Miranda stiffened, then nodded.

"Very good, sir. I will await your orders."

"Thank you, Miss Lawson," Petrovsky said. "Can you give Commander Shepard and I the room?"

Miranda nodded, then turned to me.

"I'll be right outside," she murmured, and then left via the double doors. I turned back to the general.

"You doubtless have many questions on your mind, Commander," Petrovsky said. "I may not have Ko'le's unique insight into all of them, but please, how can I help?"

I took a deep breath.

 _Ok… here we go._

"Why am I back?"

Petrovsky's eyebrows raised.

"The most important question first: I'm impressed. The simple answer is: we are at war. No one wants to admit it openly, outside of the Conclave, but humanity is under attack. While you've been sleeping, human colonies have been disappearing across the Terminus Systems. _Entire_ colonies, gone without a trace."

"Slavers?"

"That's what we thought originally, too, but the methodology is all wrong. We now believe it's someone working with the Reapers. Just as Saren and the geth aided Sovereign. You've seen it yourself. You've bested all of them. That's why Ko'le and the Circle chose to bring you back. We _need_ you, Commander: Again."

"If human colonies are being attacked," I said, my mind racing, "then the Alliance needs to know."

"The Alliance is well-informed," Petrovsky answered, "Ko'le saw to that. But their precarious position as the newest members of the Council have tied their hands to the point of inaction. They dare not deploy their fleets so close to batarian space. Not without provoking an all-out war."

"Let me talk to them," I said. "I've gotten in and out of worse situations before. If I can reinstated as a Spectre…"

"You'd be dragged along the entirety of Council Space on a goodwill publicity tour: Shepard, the Spectre who Beat Death," Petrovsky disparaged. "You know it, and I know it."

The sinking feeling in my gut told me that I did.

"What about my crew? If I can get them together…"

"I will forward you all the dossiers that I have on them," Petrovsky nodded. "In the meantime, go and see for yourself. I have ordered your ship to be ready to take you to Singapore Nova, the latest colony to be abducted. Miranda and Jacob will brief you."

"Is that an order, General?" I asked, my inner snark showing _just_ a bit. "Cause it's been a long time since Torfan."

Petrovsky smiled, and shook his head. "You always have a choice, Shepard. If you don't find the evidence we're both looking for, you are free to take the ship to any destination you wish: the Citadel, Earth…anywhere."

"And what ship have you stuck me with?" I asked, feeling the _Normandy_ 's loss for the first time.

"Far be it from me to spoil the surprise," Petrovsky said, raising his hands in mock surrender. "Go down to the docking bay and see for yourself. Oh, and Ko'le did manage to find a pilot you might like. I hear he's one of the best. Someone you _can_ trust."

The doors opened, and I turned to look.

Joker Moreau stood there, grinning from ear to ear.

I looked back at Petrovsky, but he had already cut the connection.

"Hey, Commander," _that_ voice said. That voice I didn't even _know_ I had missed. "Just like old times, huh?"

"JOKER, YOU SON OF A BITCH!" I yelled, running towards him. Suddenly he had a panicked expression on his face and he raised his hands.

"Watch the bones, watch the bones ohgodwatchthebones…."

I pulled myself to an abrupt stop at the last minute, and _gently_ put my hand on his shoulder.

"I can't believe you're here… that it's really you…"

"Look who's talking," he snarked back. "I saw you get _spaced._ "

"I got lucky," I shrugged, "With a lot of strings attached… How'd you get here?"

Miranda and Jacob joined us from the lobby, and we were taking an elevator ride back down to the docking bay. Joker and I were still talking about the crew, while Miranda and Jacob looked slightly awkwardly like third and fourth wheels. But I didn't care at the moment. Apparently everything I had tried to stir up had been wiped aside by the council. My team had been broken up, all records of the Reapers or _Sovereign_ being anything other than a geth ship had been sealed. And Joker had been grounded. Until Ko'le had sent Tali to come and get him.

"I mean, who were they going to get to fly her besides me?" he asked, with Miranda sighing in resignation in reply. He just grinned in answer.

"Wait, to fly _who?"_ I asked, just as the elevator doors opened.

"Her."

The _Normandy_ lay spread out in front of us. But this one was… bigger. Almost a _frigate_ , rather than the small _SR-1_ corvette.

Miranda and Jacob were smiling at my shocked expression.

"Commander," Jacob said, "May I present: the _Normandy SR-2."_

"The _fuuuuuuuuck?"_ I thought, and must have said it out loud, because Joker answered, "I know, right? And she flies like a _dream!_ I mean, her banking time is still shit, but I'm working on a booster algorithm to improve that…"

Frankly, I didn't hear a word that he said after that. I walked down the gangplank, almost in a daze. As I approached the door, they opened, and I saw a gold orb on the wall appear. A woman's voice echoed over the ships PA systems.

" **PIPING ABOARD COMMANDER REBECCA SHEPARD. ALL COMMAND CODES TRANSFERRED. IMPERATOR KO'LE STANDS RELEIVED.**

 **WELCOME ABOARD THE NORMANDY, COMMANDER."**

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

 **Welcome, everybody, to the third installment of our story! Let me know what you think in the comments below, as well as what you'd like to see in the chapters ahead!**

 **Tusken1602**


	2. Chapter 2: Mending What's Broken

***ZHU'S HOPE*  
FEROS  
THESEUS STYSTEM  
ATTICAN BETA**

"Gently…" I heard someone say, as if they were talking from the other end of a long tunnel.

"Lay him down… here."

 _-What is happening?-_

What's going on?

 _ **BEAST WILL NOT BE CAGED AGAIN!**_

"Ko'le, can you hear me?" a new voice sounds out in the growing-ever-crowded reaches of my mind.

My eyes open, white with the Mind-Share.

"Who is there?" I ask into the psychic depths.

"It's me…. Reyna. You're in Zhu's Hope, on Feros. Your friend Javik brought you here."

"Here? Why? NO, I should be helping Shepard!"

 _-You will be no good to her with a fragmented mind, Kevin.-_

"Ko'le?"

 _-Yes. I am here.-_

 **BEAST HEARS ALSO.**

I could _feel_ Ko'le irritated sigh.

 _-Yes, Beast is here too.-_

"And I am here as well, _Seneschal_."

I turned, and saw we were once again on a white plain, stretching out as far the eye could see. I looked down and saw that I was…. ME. Kevin Troy, of Manassas, Virginia. I was wearing the same Firefly T-Shirt and faded jeans I was wearing that day in the mountains. So long ago now….

The voice who had just spoken now proved to belong to…..

"James?" I asked incredulously. "But how are… Oh."

It was only then that I noticed that _James was green_.

"No, I am sorry, _Seneschal_. I borrowed this face from your subconscious. I hope… you do not mind."

"No… Protector-Of-The-Weak," I answered, shaking my head. "But I… am not _Seneschal._ He is."

I pointed to the approaching figure coming out of the white fog around us. He was clad in Prothean armor from head to food, his helmet folding down around his neck, revealing his dreadlock-leaden head. His prominent brow and cheekbones and squared, chiseled jaw showed his Neanderthal heritage, and the proud look he wore bespoke of his rank and title, earned through years of war.

"Protector of the Weak," Ko'le said, nodding. "Thank you for the use of the Vine-Speak. So often my and Kevin's voices grow almost indistinguishable in our own head."

Reyna (for she was the one kneeling next to me) and Protector looked positively confused, looking back and forth between Ko'le and me, not really sure what to say. Finally, Reyna broke the silence.

"Ok… Javik said we'd be talking to Ko'le and someone called…"

"Beast, yes," Ko'le said, nodding. "He should be along…. now."

Out of the mist walked another figure. But this one was smaller, barely a teenager beside Ko'le and I. Huge surgical scars covered most of his bare chest, and bright iridescent lines could be seen _just_ beneath the skin, even under his shaved and scarred scalp. He looked around, fear and hate in his black eyes, and biotics flaring around his fists.

"FRIEND OR FOE?" he asked, and his voice was like nails on chalkboard, mixed with a crying child.

"Beast," Ko'le said, raising a hand, "These are friends. They've come to help us."

"Beast not need help!"

"No, but Kevin and I _do_ ," Ko'le insisted. "Please, sit for a moment."

Beast looked sullen, but complied. Ko'le then sat down on the chair _[when did that appear,_ I wondered] and nodded at me.

"Now," Ko'le said. "I think it's time we all had a talk…"

* * *

* **SSV NORMANDY SR-2***

"Welcome aboard the new _Normandy,_ Commander," Jacob had said.

The new _Normandy_ ….

Shepard shook her head in wonderment. It was all here… bigger and better, but here. The CIC. The captain's quarters. , Miranda had explained that almost every facet of the design had come from Ko'le. It would seem he had thought of everything.

 _Another thing we're gonna have to discuss_ , she thought as she strode into the Briefing Room. A table and benches ran along the entire length of the room, and these could fold down into a holographic communicator.

She had seen Joker, of course. There were a few new faces too. Besides Miranda and Jacob, there was the engineering team: Gabby and Ken. They were both solid crewmen: former Alliance. Shepard was sure they were going to be fine. Then there was her new yeoman, Kelly Chambers: _a nice enough girl_ , Shepard decided.

 _Wish I knew if Ko'le put her here, or Petrovsky_.

 _Just so much to process_.

" **I know this must be a lot to take in, Commander."**

A metallic orb appeared on the wall, and then a golden female figure was standing in front of her.

"Who are YOU?" Shepard asked incredulously.

" **I am the Normandy's artificial intelligence,"** the girl (for that _is_ what she looked like) answered. **"My name is EDI, short for Enhanced Defense Intelligence."**

 _An A.I. Wow. Joker's going to HATE this_.

"Wow," she said, turning to face EDI. "Helmsmen aren't happy when control of the ship gets taken away from them. Especially Joker."

" **I do not fly the ship,"** EDI explained quickly. **"Mr. Moreau's talents are not being wasted nor rendered redundant. I mostly manage the electronic systems. In combat, the cyberwarfare suites. Beyond that, I try to just observe and offer advice where I can. Nothing more."**

 _Huh,_ thought Rebecca. _Interesting_. But then she tabled all the questions she had until later. She turned back to Miranda and Jacob.

"So… Singapore Nova. What do we know about it?"

"Wildcat colony," Jacob said, bringing up his Omni-Tool and bringing up the info on the main projector. "They started out under contract with ties to the Noveria Development Corporation, but after some issues in the early stages, Noveria pulled out, leaving just over 2,000 unsupported colonists. But they've gone on strong, even on their own, growing to 5,000 in just under two years."

"At least… until 5 days ago," Miranda continued. "Suddenly, all radio chatter ended abruptly. Mid-transmission. No word, no distress call. A team has been dispatched to investigate, but, so far, they've just found an empty colony. No survivors, no bodies, and no bullet-marks."

" **That Conclave observation team is still newly on-site now, Commander,"** EDI added. **"We should attempt to meet up with them when we arrive. The lead agent on scene is Tallaxis, a hanar. Lieutenant Prazza vas Torva and a squad of Conclave Marines are providing security."**

"Notify them of our arrival and have them standing by," Shepard said, folding her arms.

" **Will do, Commander."**

"Thank you, EDI."

Shepard could have sworn she saw EDI raise an eyebrow at being thanked, but she wasn't sure.

" **In the meantime, Commander,"** EDI said, **"there is someone in the Med-Bay who will be very glad to see you."**

Shepard headed down to the Deck 3, taking a slight right towards the Med-Bay.

"Commander Shepard," a familiar voice welcomed her, and the silver-haired doctor turned towards her. "I watched the Normandy crumble with you still in it. Glad to see you're still alive."

"CHAKWAS!"

Shepard ran forward and hugged the older woman out of pure instinct.

"It's so good to see you, Karin..."

"You have _no idea_ ," Dr. Chakwas agreed, breaking the hug.

"Ko'le recruited you for the Conclave?" asked Shepard, "Never thought you'd leave the Alliance…"

"I don't work for Ko'le, or his Conclave," Chakwas said emphatically. "I work for _you_. Ko'le sent me a message just a few days ago claiming the impossible: the _Normandy_ was rebuilt, and Commander Rebecca J. Shepard had returned from the dead. So naturally, I dropped everything to come and see for myself. I stepped off the shuttle yesterday and couldn't believe my eyes: here our old ship was, bigger and better than before, and there was my captain and my friend, walking away, down the gangplank. I was so startled I couldn't even call out to stop you."

"Walking away?" Shepard asked, her eyebrows furrowing in confusion. "Karin… I just got here. This is my first time on the _Normandy_."

"Really?" Karin said, copying Shepard's expression. "I could've sworn… well if it wasn't you, it was your doppelganger. I mean, the hoodie was pulled over her head, but her _face_ …"Then she shrugged. "I guess it was just projectionist thinking on an old woman's part."

Shepard smiled, "And… what do you think so far?"

"The Med-Bay is well-stocked, and even more updated than the one in my clinic. Just put a bottle of Serrice Ice Brandy under the counter and it'd be identical to the last _Normandy_ 's. As for you…"

She reached out and took Rebecca by the shoulders, slowly turning her around to get a full look.

"Obviously, I'd like to get a good look at you under the medical scanner to see the extent of the surgeries they've done… but that can wait until later. I'm sure you have a thousand things to do, and a thousand people to talk to."

"I do," agreed Shepard, giving her friend an affectionate squeeze on her shoulder, "but we'll talk soon, OK?"

"Of course… _Commander_. Happy to be back on board."

"Glad to have you, Karin. I need people I can trust…"

* * *

 ***ZHU'S HOPE, FEROS***

The two Thorians and the three of us were all sitting in… well, I hadn't come up with a name for this wide, expanse-less field we found ourselves in.

My Mind-Palace? Sure, why not? I like Sherlock…

"Sorry," Reyna said, slowly, looking back and forth and all of us, "but _what_ is going on?"

"This is their mind, my child," Protector explained. "One mind, with… one, two…. _three_ personalities. All vying for control."

"But then… whose mind is this?" asked Reyna, gesturing to the whiteness surrounding us.

"MINE," all three of us answered simultaneously.

Protector placed a hand on his daughter's arm with a "Please-be-quite-now" face that only a parent can do, then turned to face the rest of us.

"Your struggles threaten to tear your own mind apart at the seams," he declared to the three of us. He then pointed a finger at Beast.

"You… you've been here the longest. You were the first, were you not?"

Beast nodded, slowly. "Master… take Beast," he said, "Tear him apart. Put him together. Take something out again. Replace. Did many times."

 _The image of a little boy, strapped and bolted to a table, screaming in agony played out in front of us. Kopral Robbidir stood there, hands behind his back, watching the Neanderthal's vitals on a viewscreen._

" _AGAIN."_

" _Lord Robbidir..." an aide stuttered. "His systems cannot…_

" _AGAIN!"_

 _The little boy screamed as the agony resumed._

"Enough…" Ko'le said, rising to his feet. "That's enough."

He took several deep, shuddering breaths.

"When we were…. When _I was_ freed," he began, "I did my best to blot out those times. It was like… like…"

"Like it happened to someone else," I offered.

"Exactly!" Ko'le agreed. "I just… I just… _needed_ to put that pain behind me. I was no longer merely _Beast_. I was… a person. I had a name! I had a home!"

Beast stood slowly, standing right behind Ko'le.

"Beast… has name. Has home…"

"And they were _TAKEN_ from us!" Ko'le hissed, spinning around to face him. "I would not be the dumb, nameless weapon that they had created us to be!"

"But you were," Protector said, placing a hand on each of their shoulders. "You were warriors… both of you. And there were times that you needed Beast, weren't there?"

The trio were now speaking in low voices, and Reyna came and sat down next to me.

"So… how the hell do _you_ fit in?" she asked me.

"What?" I asked, startled back to the present.

"Well, Beast is the Neanderthal taken from his home and... experimented on," Reyna said with a shudder. "And Ko'le is the educated, cultured personality that he developed later on. But _you_ are not either of those things. You are not even a Neanderthal, are you?"

"Nope," I said. " _Homo sapiens_ _sapiens_ , all the way."

"Then how…."

"It's a long story," I explained. Or rather, didn't explain.

Reyna looked around us.

"You got a date?"

I chuckled. "Point taken."

I told the abridged, heavily edited version: Going camping with friends in the Appalachian Mountains, and finding a Prothean beacon, that I touched. Then suddenly waking up in Ko'le's head.

 _Staying the fuck away from alternate universe explanations for now..._

"You can't…" Reyna said. "We're in your mind, Kevin. There are no secrets here."

 _Wait, what_?

Unbidden, and unrestrained, and unfiltered, the scenes from the Mass Effect games played out in front of us. The Xbox Logo shone brightly above the entire thing…

 _Creating custom characters: Name – Rebecca Shepard_

 _Classification: Soldier_

 _Origin: Spacer/War Hero_

"Father Above…" Reyna said in wonderment. Protector, Ko'le, and Beast also had paused their conversation to watch.

 _The death of the Thorian on Feros._

 _The death of the Rachni Queen on Noveria._

 _The death of Urdnot Wrex on Virmire._

 _The death of Kaiden Alenko._

 _The death of Saren._

 _The death of Shepard._

 _The rebirth of Shepard._

"Enough…" I hissed, grabbing at my temples.

 _Load Saved Game….._

 _MaleShep missions…._

 _DLC: Arrival._

 _DLC: Leviathan._

 _DLC: Lair of the Shadow Broker_

"ENOUGH!" I screamed, and the Xbox cutscenes ceased.

"What the _hell_ are you?" Reyna said, scrambling to her feet and backing away slowly.

My head was _killing me_. It felt like nine-inch nails were being driven into my skull with rubber mallets. Suddenly, a hand was on my arm, and the pain began to subside.

"It would seem I owe you much more than just my name, Kevin," Protector said softly, his touch soothing the pain.

"We all do," Ko'le said, as he knelt beside me. "He is the Ordained, from a Universe outside of our own, where our reality was naught but a fictional story. He has come, across Time, Space, and Reality, to us in our time of need."

"In that… game…" Reyna said, wide-eyed. "Dad… Uncle Fai… Mom…"

"All dead," I exhaled. "I… have managed… to intervene…thus far."

"And the Conclave…"

"Was never formed in my reality," I confirmed, sitting up slowly. "And Cerberus remained staunchly anti-alien, almost resulting in the destruction of the entire galaxy."

"You… have much to do, then," Protector half stated, half asked. "You know what's coming..."

"Even better than I do," Ko'le agreed, taking my other arm.

"I know what happened in the _game_ ," I objected. "We've diverged pretty far from that storyline already. But… yes. There is… much to do."

"And you will need help," Protector continued, looking at Ko'le and Beast.

"We've worked together… so far…" I panted. "I don't know… what happened…"

"You locked Beast away," Reyna offered. "And he doesn't like cages…"

"I did not _need_ him," Ko'le said, standing to his feet.

"He is a part of you…"

"I DO NOT WANT HIM!" Ko'le snarled. "I do not WANT his pain! I do not WANT his past! I DO NOT WANT TO BE A VICTIM! NEVER AGAIN! NEVER!"

Beast drew his lips back in a snarl, a sword suddenly appearing in his hand; one that matched the one Ko'le held.

 _Oh, crap_.

"And how would _you_ know what being a victim is like, Ko'le?"

Ko'le whirled at Protector's question, his sword at the Thorian's throat.

"Careful what you say, _Weed_ … I have suffered more than… than…"

Suddenly a flicker of doubt crossed his expression.

"If you insist that Beast is 'not you,'" Protector continued gently, "and if you insist that all of _his_ pain and suffering are _his alone_ , then you have not suffered. Then you are only the blood-brother and _Seneschal_ of Urush Robbidir."

Ko'le turned his head slowly to stare at Beast.

" _His_ sufferings are also _yours_ , my friend," Protector explained. "You cannot lock away _your_ suffering, and pretend it never happened, and expect that all will be well, any more than you can deny the existence of your enemy, and claim that you have achieved victory."

He bowed his head.

"You gave me a new name, _Seneschal_. But the suffering and the misdeeds of Forgotten-By-The-Surface still belong to Protector-of-the-Weak. And the sufferings of Beast are the sufferings of Ko'le _Seneschal_."

There was a moment of profound silence. Then Ko'le brought his sword down, the weapon disintegrating to dust.

"I am… I am…"

"You are more than the sum of your past," Protector said, looking at each of us in turn. "You are more than the sum of your parts."

"I am… I am…" Ko'le said again, slowly.

"I am more than a weapon," Beast declared, dropping his own blade. It too disintegrated into nothingness when it hit the floor.

"I am more than a warrior," Ko'le declared, and his armor faded away, revealing dress robes of intricate material and craftsmanship.

"I am more than an exile," I said, rising to my feet. I continued, or rather, _we_ continued, speaking in unison:

"I am more than a Beast.

I am more than a Servant.

I am more than Ordained.

I am Ko'le Voidwalker, and I am come to free my people.

I am come that they might have life, a future, and a family.

I will lead, that they may achieve these.

I will serve, that they may achieve these.

I will fight, that they may achieve these.

So mote it be…."

Then I opened my eyes, and we were back on Feros.

Protector-of-the-Weak still hung from his place in the center of the pylons, but the hallways had been cleared of the rubble and debris from the game. Thorian roots ran along the walls and floors, sinking deep into the earth beneath us.

Reyna was kneeling to my right, one of her hands literally rooted into the earth as well. She twisted and pulled at it, and a layer of skin [ _or was it bark?]_ came off of her palm, freeing her from the roots she had sent into the ground.

 _That's how she tapped into the Vine-Speak…._

"Ko'le?"

I looked left to see Shiala kneeling next to us, a worried expression on her face.

"Are you… you?" she asked.

I looked down, examining my limbs, and exploring my own mind…

 _My mind_ ….

 _Mine…._

"I… think so…." I said, slowly. Reyna and Shiala both offered me a hand, helping me back to my feet, pulling free of several vines that had grown up around me.

The Thorian groaned and shuddered behind us, then, as we watched, a grey, human-shaped Vine Construct was spat out of the Thorian. It slowly stood, and instead of the zombie eyes from our first visit to Feros, it had the face of a normal human, except that the eyes were glowing green.

" _Seneschal,"_ Protector said, speaking through the newly-born avatar, "Are you well?"

"Thanks to you, it seems, my friend," I answered. "I owe you my sanity, Protector-of-the-Weak."

"Everyone in this room owes you their lives, _Seneschal_ ," Shiala said, bowing her head.

Protector knelt on one knee before me.

" **My Lord,"** he said, speaking in Prothean, **"I would ask a boon of thee, in accordance with the Void Treaty of old…"**

" **Speak, friend,"** I answered in the same tongue. **"Grant words to wish, and see them fulfilled, be it in my power."**

" **My Vine-Daughter, Queen-of-Joy-and-Laughter, has reached the age of her Star-Journey. She must now go forth from this place, to see the wide universe she has been born into. I would ask that thee take her under thy protection, as her Ward and Protector."**

"Protector…" Shiala began to protest.

" _ **Amore**_ _,"_ Protector said gently, using the word for _beloved_ or _dearest_ , **"Our daughter has inherited the abilities of an asari huntress, and generations worth of the knowledge of the Thorian people**."

"Father…" Reyna began, but Protector cut her off also.

" **What she does** _ **not have**_ **,"** he said, looking from her to Shiala to me, " **is experience. This experience she will not obtain here in the ruins of an ancient city. And there is none I trust more to watch over her than the** _ **Seneschal**_ **. And if she can be a boon to his mission,"** he continued, now looking meaningfully at Reyna **, "then she will have paid a small portion of the debt owed him by all Thorians."**

Reyna closed her mouth, then nodded, once. Shiala did the same, looking pleadingly at me.

" **If she is willing,"** I continued, **"I will watch over her, as if she were of my own Vine. I will accompany her on her Star-Journey, until such time as she decides to return to the city of Charn, unto the Vine of her Fathers, to join with the Vine of her Ancestors and begin her own Vine."**

Protector and Shiala looked at Reyna, who looked back and forth from them to me, then apparently made up her mind. She inhaled, squared her shoulders, and nodded. Shiala held out her hand and she and Reyna walked away, back towards the surface. I turned back to Protector.

"Thank you, my friend," I said again, in Basic now. "I will watch over her."

"I know, _Seneschal_ ," he nodded. "What will you do now?"

"What ship did I come in?" I asked, slightly sheepishly. "I'm afraid I have little memory of the journey here."

"Commander Javik brought you and your companions here in the _Indomitable_ ," Protector explained.

The _Indomitable._ A Conclave corvette, retrofitted from an old turian _Ecru-_ class reconnaissance ship. It was only slightly smaller than the _Normandy_ SR-1, but of course was not nearly as impressive, with a stealth system only able to cloak the ship for about an hour, tops. Its weapons and maneuverability were… not really to be compared to the SR-2.

 _But it will suit our purposes,_ I thought. I then realized that I was waiting for Ko'le to comment on my thoughts, or Beast. But no other voices came. I looked up at Protector, slightly confused.

"Yes, you are all still in there," he said, smiling slightly. "However, you have managed to successfully integrate yourselves, the three of you. For now.

"For now?" I asked.

"I expect," Protector said, with a slight shrug, "as you experience more, it will trigger the memories of various members of the trio that comprises… you. Eventually, you will begin to… fray at the edges. And this will have to be done again."

"So I will have to come here again," I said, already making mental calculations as to _how often_ and _how to explain it to others_.

"I am not sending my Vine-Daughter with you just for _her_ protection, _Seneschal_ ," Protector smiled, "but also for yours. If the war begins anew in your mind, as long as she can root herself in the earth, she can initiate her own Vine-Speak. And you can reintegrate as needed."

"Ah. I see."

"Do not fret, Kevin," Protector said, placing a hand on my shoulder, "Your secret is safe with us. The mission of the Ordained must go forward."

"You seem to be taking concepts like 'Alternate Multiverse' and 'This is all a video game to me' rather well," I marveled. "Most would have thought me a madman… or a liar."

Protector shook his head as he walked backward towards his main body. The giant Thorian vine bend forward, and consumed the humanoid body again. And his voice echoed in my mind:

" **There are no lies in the Vine-Speak,** _ **Seneschal**_ **. There is only truth, no matter how incredible… or painful."**

* * *

* **SINGAPORE NOVA*  
BOYAR SYSTEM  
HOURGLASS NEBULA**

Shepard snapped the last of the armor into place. It felt _good_ to be back in military harness again, but also strange in a way: Like waking from a dream or a deep sleep.

 _Which I guess is appropriate_ , she thought. _Nearly two years of being out of it, and here I am again_. _Time to go see what's become of the galaxy since I've been gone._

"Are you ready, Shepard?" Miranda asked, strapping on her own Carnifax Heavy Pistol. A M-4 Shuriken submachine gun was also at her back, Shepard noticed. Jacob, on the other hand, had a Hurricane shotgun, another Carnifax on his hip.

"You two don't want any heavier armor?" she asked. Miranda shook her head.

"Interferes with my biotics," she explained.

"The Corsairs trained to move fast and hit hard," Jacob added. "Force of habit, I guess."

Shepard nodded, then double checked her Quarian Battle Rifle. She had been thrilled beyond belief when she found that in her locker, and that the stupid pressure pad in the handle had been replaced with an actual trigger.

 _Glad to see Ko'le found at least a modicum of practicality_.

The _Normandy_ docked at the colony landing pad with Shepard, Jacob, and Miranda disembarking. At the end of the gangplank stood a squad of quarian marines. _Conclave Marines, now_ , Shepard corrected herself. At the head of the group stood a very unmistakable armored hanar.

"Tallaxis, isn't it?" asked Shepard.

"This one is pleased that you've remembered, Commander Shepard," Tallaxis said, bowing slightly.

"You were there with Ko'le when we defeated Saren," Shepard said graciously. "Plus… it's a little hard to forget an armored hanar."

"We are not as rare as we used to be," Tallaxis said with a modicum of amusement, "Many hanar have followed this one's example and begun serving in the Conclave military. This is Lieutenant Prazza vas Torva."

One of the quarian marines saluted respectfully.

"Commander," he said politely.

Shepard returned the salute, then turned back to Tallaxis.

"Sit-rep," she said simply. "What are we dealing with?"

"An entire city whose population has utterly disappeared," Tallaxis explained. "Our search so far has revealed nothing: no bodies, no blaster marks, and no signs of a struggle of any kind. Food is still on the tables, weapons are still on their racks, and several apartments have obvious valuables still lying in plain sight. Nothing has been taken, except the people themselves."

"What exactly are we looking _for_?" asked Shepard.

"The Conclave had an agent in place here," Tallaxis continued. "When the first colonies were attacked, we dispatched agents to several human colonies to assess and report on their levels of preparedness to resist attack. The agent here was named Topher Lekkas: a drell. Good boy, gifted technician. He made his weekly report, as usual, and then… nothing. The trouble is, we do not know where exactly he was living in the city. The colony's firewalls have proven… troublesome."

" **I have already accessed the colony records, Shepard,"** EDI reported over the radio. **"The only drell recorded in Singapore Nova was named Cyrus Kanzu."**

"That is his alias," confirmed Tallaxis. "Thank you, EDI."

" **You are very welcome, Agent Tallaxis. Forwarding you Agent Lekkas' address, Shepard."**

"Fan out," Shepard said, marking the location on her Omni-Map. "Watch out for booby-traps! Slavers love to leave surprises for any potential rescuers!"

Prazza and the rest of her squad nodded, and the group set out, guns drawn and scanning for potential threats. It was eerie, just as Tallaxis said: restaurants still had half-eaten plates on the tables. There were speeders still parked in the streets. It was not only that nothing was broken. It was that nothing was _out of place_. No chairs were turned over, no windows smashed. No signs of panic.

 _No slavers could have acted this fast_ , Shepard thought as she scanned another empty building. _Not even if they used a knock-out gas on the city. There would still be signs of struggles as people began to pass out._

"Commander!" Miranda yelled out ahead. Shepard ran forward to where the woman was crouching. Miranda pointed to the second-story apartment complex that was their destination. One of the doors was missing, black burn marks on the walls.

"Someone used a breaching charge on that door," Jacob said, stating the obvious.

"Take up position," Shepard said over the radio. The quarians fanned out, covering every conceivable angle of the courtyard. Shepard, Tallaxis, Miranda, and Jacob headed up the stairs closest to the breached door. An unmistakable splatter pattern was on the wall. But it was black, rather than the reddish-brown that Shepard was familiar with.

"Miranda, get a sample of that blood-spatter," she ordered.

"On it, Commander."

They arrived at the blown-out door. Shepard and Jacob locked eyes. Shepard nodded, once, twice, and three times. She moved into the apartment, Jacob and Tallaxis right behind.

The room was a standard one-room apartment, nothing fancy. Coffee table, bed, kitchen, and a bathroom.

But what was _not_ standard were the burn marks on the wall, and the fact that the coffee table was now mostly splinters.

 _Biotics_ , thought Shepard. _Nothing else could've shattered it like that_.

"See what you can find," Shepard ordered. Tallaxis began scanning the burn marks on the wall, while Jacob moved the back to see what he could find. Shepard was in the kitchen, when suddenly she noticed something.

"Tallaxis," she asked. "Was Lekkas a worshipper of Athame?"

The hanar looked at her a bit sideways.

"No, Commander," he answered. "Agent Lekkas was a follower of the drell pantheon, as far as I know."

"Then why is there a statue of the goddess on the floor?"

Shepard moved and opened a scanner on her Omni-Tool. Sure enough, a signal was detected.

"There's a camera hidden in this statue," Shepard said, picking it up gently.

"Smart," Jacob said, "If I knew I wasn't going to make it out, I'd at least try to let someone know who killed me."

"May I?" Tallaxis said, holding out two of his tentacles. "He would have used Conclave encryption codes…"

Shepard nodded and handed the statue over to the hanar. The hanar passed his Omni-Tool over the statue, and suddenly a holo-projection began. Tallaxis quickly placed the statue back on the mantelpiece to center the projection.

 _A young drell_ (just a kid, thought Shepard) _was bolting the door shut, and setting the coffee table to reinforce the door._

" _This…" he panted, then paused to catch his breath. "This is Agent Topher Lekkas, Conc-Sec ident 9938281. Singapore Nova is under attack. All transmissions have been blocked, so there's no chance of sending a distress call."_

 _He paused again, closing his eyes to focus._

" _The Seneschal was right. It IS the Collectors. They… just… came out of nowhere. They used…"_

 _The young drell shuddered at the memory. Then he reached into his jacket and pulled out… a bug. It looked like a giant cross between a mosquito and a cockroach._

" _They used these. They're some kind of… cybernetic organism. They inject a paralytic on contact. They just swarmed the entire colony in seconds. Everyone's… everyone was frozen where they stood. They have had no effect on me, though…"_

 _He looked down at the bug in his hand, and then crushed it in his fist._

" _I think they were_ _programmed_ _to seek and find humans only. I'm storing a full-scan of the creatures here in the statue. Please, whoever finds this, get this to the Magi and Conclave R &D. We have develop some kind of countermeasure. Maybe a localized EMP field could…." _

_There was suddenly a scraping sound as someone tried the door handle of the apartment. Topher whirled toward the door, then back to the statue._

" _They've found me. The bug must have had some kind of tracking device. Suspected as much. What I would have done, anyway."_

 _The kid then got close, his voice lowering. Half-sobs escaped him between sentences._

" _Tell my family… Mom, I love you so much. Chara… I'm sorry I'm not gonna make it to your wedding….Be strong for Mom, OK? Your brother loves you very much!"_

 _He moved away from the statue and disappeared behind the kitchen bar. Suddenly, the door exploded inward, and a dark figure stood in the doorway. It strode in, scanning the room. Topher popped up from behind the bar, firing once from a shotgun. The headshot send the dark alien down hard, the black blood spattering outside._

That's the blood spatter we found _,_ thought Shepard.

 _Suddenly another one landed just outside the door, two pairs of insectoid wings folding away on its back. Topher's second and third shots were blocked by a black-green biotic field, and then suddenly the coffee table was hurling toward the young drell, who turned to see it too late. The crash knocked the statue from the mantle down the floor, all visuals lost._

"Kid put up a hell of a fight," Jacob said, respect in his tone. He closed his eyes and bowed his head, observing a moment of silence.

"Back up the recording," Shepard said, "To where you can see the intruders."

Tallaxis rewound the recording to reveal the insectoid-like alien standing in the doorway.

"My God," Miranda said, entering the room. "That's a Collector."

 _The myths are true_ , Shepard marveled, then shook herself back to reality.

"What about the data he was talking about?"

Tallaxis passed his Omni-Tool over the statue again, then nodded (or at least the hanar equivalent).

"There are multiple data files embedded in the data stream, Commander."

"We should get this back to the _Normandy_ ," Miranda said, "See if EDI can do anything with it."

"Alright," Shepard said. "Let's go. Bring that thing with us."

* **SOME TIME LATER***

EDI was still running a full diagnostic and scan of the statue, and Shepard was going over the files recovered so far. Most of them were the stuff of nightmares: giant bipedal insectoids sending smaller bugs to paralyze their victims, then placing them in pods for transport. 5,000 colonists, captured without a shot, a distress call, or survivors.

 _Fucking brutally efficient_ , she thought, horrified and impressed at the same time.

"We're going to have to develop some kind of countermeasure to protect ourselves," Shepard said, tossing a datapad to Miranda. "Otherwise this is going to be a hellova short mission."

"Indeed," Miranda said. "But… does this mean you'll join us?"

"I can't deny what I've seen with my own eyes," Shepard said, gesturing to the datapad, "and I can't turn my back on something like this. But just so we're clear," she said, placing her hands on the desk, "This is _my_ ship and _my_ mission. At the end of the day, it is _my_ orders we follow. Are you going to be ok with that, Miranda?"

Miranda paused, seemingly weighing her options.

"I studied you extensively… before," she said finally. "Ko'le trusts you implicitly, as does the rest of the galaxy, for that matter. I'll follow _your_ orders… Commander. If you'll have me."

"Good," Shepard said. "Glad that's behind us."

" **Shepard?"** came a voice over the ship's intercom. **"Are you there?"**

"Go ahead, Kelly," Shepard said, smiling at the sound of the eager yeoman's voice.

" **There's an incoming transmission from Feros,"** Kelly said, **"The signature is Conclave Command** , **marked 'Priority.'** "

"Patch it through," Shepard said, as she and Miranda began to clear the datapads off the table, even as it began to fold into the floor. The room darkened, and slowly, a figure came into full focus. Even if the armor wasn't a giveaway, the dreadlocks sure were.

"Ko'le?"

"Shepard," the Neanderthal answered, smiling broadly. "I can almost say I've never been gladder to see anyone in my whole life."

"Are you… OK?" asked Shepard. "You weren't big on conversation the last time we met."

"Yeah… sorry about that," he said, scratching the back of his head. "The joys of Prothean cerebral implants. Even the best cybernetics need maintenance, and I was about fifty millennia overdue, I'm afraid. Couldn't have happened at a worse time, I know."

"Well… I'm glad you're ok, now," Shepard said.

"I read the report on Singapore Nova and what happened there," Ko'le said, and then his eyes grew grave and sorrowful. "Topher Lekkas was a good kid; I met him on the Citadel the day we stopped Saren. You'd've liked him, Shepard."

"From the little I saw of him, I think so, too," Shepard agreed. "They say you know the Collectors?"

"Do you remember the husks the geth made on Eden Prime?"

"Not something you can really forget," Shepard said slowly.

"The Collectors are the husk forms of Protheans, Commander," Ko'le explained. "I fought them my entire military career in my cycle. We called them the Fallen, then. Now, it seems, they are known as the Collectors. And they have begun to target humans for some reason."

"We need to alert the Council and the Alliance," Shepard said. "They need to know what's going on."

Ko'le looked crestfallen.

"What?" Shepard asked.

"I've been spending the last two years butting heads with both of those parties," Ko'le said. "They insist the Reaper threat died with Sovereign. You and I know better. If we're going to do this, I'm afraid it's going to be just us. A new ship, a new team, ready to take the fight to the source: the Collectors."

"What happened to our old team, our old crew?" asked Shepard. "Where are they?"

"It's been almost two years, Shepard," Ko'le said gently. "They've moved on. But I know where they are, and now that your back, we can go find them. In the meantime, I've sent you the dossiers of the finest mercenaries, warriors, and specialists in the galaxy. Can't promise they'll join, but maybe they'll listen to you. You were the legend after all, not me."

Shepard thought for a moment, then brought up another issue.

"Did your people ever develop a countermeasure?" she asked eagerly, "for these… bugs' paralytic effects?"

"We developed and adapted our armor systems to shield us from the Zha'til Swarm's effects," Ko'le answered, "But I don't think we have the time to outfit the galaxy with Prothean body armor. R&D is working on a solution, but I think there's somewhere else we should try as well: A salarian professor named Mordin Solus."

"I know the name," Miranda said, joining the conversation, "Former STG scientist. He runs a clinic on Omega these days."

"I've forwarded you a dossier with all his information," Ko'le said, bringing up his Omni-Tool. "Suffice to say, this guy is a genius. Our intel suggests he may have a way, or be able to develop a way to counteract these swarms."

"Then our first stop is Omega," Shepard said. "If we can't find a way to fight the Collectors we're sure as hell not going to stop them. And Ko'le…?"

"Yes?"

"We are going to sit down and have a very long talk. Soon. Face-to-face."

Ko'le nodded in acknowledgement.

"I'll meet you on Omega. There's something else of interest there for you as well," Ko'le added. "Or rather, I should say, someone."

"Who?"

Well…. He's called Archangel by the gangs and criminals of the station. You and I know him by another name…"

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

 **And that's the first official chapter of Beacon's Effect 3:Awakening! A lotta different from the beginning of Mass Effect 2, as you can see, but with a lot of similarities all the same. Our favorite SI character is back on his feet and back in his mind. We'll see how long that lasts…**

 **Please comment or PM me to let me know what you guys think! Thanks for the awesome support and reviews thus far!**

 **\- Tusken1602**

* * *

Reviewer Responses:

griezz,– Samara WILL appear in BE:3. And yes… it will be VERY interesting.

Nagato21 – That will be a fun chapter to write: "Here's your clone, Shepard. Uh… surprise?"

Blaze1992 – Shepard will be exploring the full range of capabilities of the _Normandy SR-2_ , don't worry.

METALHELLSPWN – The fourth (and last) installment of the story currently has the working title of Beacon's Effect 4: Reckoning. That may change, though. Idk.

The Eternal Forgotten, Alucard Bellsing, Hadian, Guest– Ko'le will be acting in coordination with Shepard in BE:3, but not on the actual _Normandy_. He'll be resuming some duties as _Imperator_ , while at the same coordinating efforts with Shepard. So, I'm testing out this "1st person Ko'le, 3rd Person Shepard" POV. See how everyone reacts.

the metaphysical god of heroes, AlsoKnownAsMatt – Trying to scale back on the OP factor of Ko'le, but at the same time, keep all of the badassness that we know and have come to love.

Guest – Chapters will be tricky, as I am taking the summer semester, which begins June 6. I can't promise frequent updates, but will do my ABSOLUTE BEST. You have my promise on that….

XCOMHEAVY12, dragons guard, Asahar4, XRaiderV1, ronnambi, shugokage, Elvisfonz23, BrotherCaptainSheperd, masterdude94, Peon, vampireharry the 2, swedish nerd – Thanks, everybody! Appreciate the kind words and awesome vibes!

YOU ALL ROCK, EACH OF YOU!


	3. Chapter 3: Dossier: Archangel

* **CSV INDOMITABLE** *

"You didn't tell her about me," Jane said as I ended the transmission with Shepard.

"No," I agreed. "I think that's a conversation for another day. Dropping the 'Garrus is a vigilante who everyone on Omega is trying to kill' was a big enough bomb for now. We'll work our way up to 'You have a clone-sister, and she's on my ship right now.'"

"Right…so, what's the plan for now?" Jane asked, folding her hands behind her back and squaring her shoulders.

"Call the squad together," I told my acting XO. "Briefing in 15."

"Aye, aye… _Imperator_ ," Jane said, sending me a salute, which I returned. After she left the room, I turned back to the console and dialed another number. Say what you will, the _Indomitable_ 's quantum entanglement communications array rivaled anything on the _Normandy_.

The call connected, and a familiar face appeared in front of me.

"Ko'le!"

"Hello, Morinth," I greeted warmly, then furrowed my brows. "Did I… interrupt something?"

"Not at all," she said, flashing me a brilliant smile, "I was just in the middle of my workout."

"And this explains why you're naked?"

"Do you have any idea how hard it is to find a decent pool on this station? My people's first home was the water. Call me old-fashioned. Why?" she asked, giving me a devious grin and striking a pose, "You're not… _embarrassed_ , are you?"

"Just trying to keep this professional," I answered, refusing to take the bait.

"Awww… you're positively _adorable_ ," she said, wrapping a towel around herself. "There… all better now. Now, what's up?"

"Shepard and the _Normandy_ are inbound for Omega, and we're not far behind," I stated. "Where are we with the plan?"

"All ready to go, boss," she grinned wickedly. "Tarek practically _leapt_ at the chance for an alliance. He's recruited heavily to bolster his Blue Sun numbers from the local rabble here on Omega, but they're… well, you know."

"Useless?"

"That's putting it kindly. Garm and the Blood Pack here on station also didn't need any encouragement to team up to go after Archangel. Seems your friend tried to kill Garm recently. I think Garm is angrier about how _close_ he came to actually _succeeding_ than he is about the assassination attempt in the first place."

"Sounds like Garrus," I smiled. "But he joined you and Tarak's little 'alliance'?"

"Too desperate not to," came the answer, "It would seem that he has lost control of most of his vorcha, who made up the bulk of his army. The vorcha have banded together on the lower-most levels of the station. Very organized, very efficient. Very…."

"Un-vorcha-like?"

"Exactly. Well, minus Pyke's little merry band."

 _Gonna have to look into that,_ I mentally noted. "And are the Talons on board?"

"I positively _adore_ that little minx Nyreen," Morinth said, smiling. "I can see what Aria saw in her: powerful biotic, but so personally insecure. But she took control of the Talons well enough, and brought them into Archangel's fold. If you ask me, I think she's fallen for him just a _little_ bit. But that could just be her insatiable need for her daddy's approval. Dunno. Anyway, the Talons have taken total control of level 91. They've been trying to expand, but it's been difficult with Nyreen's 'no civilian casualties' rule."

"So the trap is ready to be sprung?"

"On your word, _Imperator_."

"Very good," I said, finally. "Pass the word on to Nyreen and Garrus. I'll be on-station soon."

Morinth positively _lit up_ when I said that. "I can't wait to see you, _lover_ ," she said. She leaned forward, an impish grin on her face. Her voice was a husky whisper, and she started to unfasten her towel, slowly and deliberately.

"You _know…_ sometimes… I think of you at night _…"_

" _Goodbye_ , Morinth," I said, rolling my eyes and ending the connection.

 _That girl is going to be the death of me_ , I thought. _She in fact could be. Who knows?_

I walked out of the Communications Room, onto the main Command Deck. It was kinda like the CIC on the Normandy, but a lot more open and less streamlined. I took the stairs (no elevators on this ship) down to the Crew Deck, where all the cabins were situated, as well as the Mess Hall, which doubled right now as a board room. Seated at the long table were

Javik, my Prothean sword-brother and leader of the Reborn Protheans.

Thorian Seedling Reyna, also known as Queen-of-Joy-and-Laughter, and now my ward.

Kolyat Krios, my yeoman/self-designated protégé, son of the galaxy's most skilled assassin ( _who Shepard will be recruiting soon,_ I realized).

And of course, Jane Shepard, genetic clone of the Savior of the Citadel.

 _The beginnings of my own squad,_ I thought wistfully.

"Brother," I said, embracing Javik as I entered the room. "You saved my life."

"Again," the Prothean said in jest, "I will add it to the list."

"Are we keeping score again?" I asked, "Because I'm _pretty sure_ I was at least a dozen or so ahead of you at the last tally."

"Well, one fewer, now," Javik said, almost chuckling. I patted him on the shoulder and took my seat.

"You had us worried, sir," Kolyat said, relief evident on his face.

"I had _me_ worried, Kolyat," I nodded.

"What is the plan now, brother?" Javik asked. "Give the order, and we deploy the full might of our fleet to crush the Fallen, once and for all."

"We have to find them first," Jane objected, "And we don't know how many ships or soldiers the Collectors have, or where they'll strike next."

"Valid points," I conceded. "Tallaxis will be joining us when we reach Omega. Once he does, Javik, I need you to help him coordinate our forces. We have to deploy what ships we can to protect the human colonies in the Terminus Systems."

"That… will be no easy task, brother," Javik cautioned.

"Not to mention it will make the Alliance _and_ the Hegemony nervous to have conclave ships so near," Shepard agreed.

"We could put it down as a diplomatic gesture," Reyna added, "Offer some of our ships to protect batarian colonies as well, and we're golden. After all, we don't _know_ that the batarians won't be targeted, do we?"

"Good thinking, Reyna," I acknowledged, impressed at the young Thorian's political wherewithal. "Now, we just need to sell that concept to the Council and Hegemony."

"Zaeed Massani sent a message," Kolyat reported, changing the subject. "He will be on station around the same time as our arrival. He's traveling via civilian transport, under a false name, along with a squad of Black Sun elites."

"Excellent," I replied. "Send him to coordinate with Shepard and the _Normandy_. I have a feeling that they'll get along just fine…"

* * *

 ***SSV NORMANDY***

"Well doc, what's the word?" Shepard asked, sitting up from underneath the medical scanner. "Am I gonna make it?"

"From the looks of those implants, you've _already made it_ from Hell and back again," Chakwas said in amazement. "I'm going to have to have a serious talk with Miss Lawson. Half of these implants I don't even _recognize_ , and the other half I thought were only in the theoretical stage. Oh, wait a moment…" she said bringing up another image. "Hmmm…"

"What?"

"It would seem that you and our favorite Neanderthal have much more in common these days," Chakwas explained, bringing up her medical scans of Ko'le and the medical scan she had just completed of Shepard. Even to Shepard's untrained eye, the similarities were obvious.

"What… did they _do to me_?" Shepard asked breathlessly, looking down at her body. She had taken a good look at herself, alone in her cabin. It was… weird. The scars and the marks that she knew… were gone.

That white line above her eyebrow where she had run into her family's coffee table as a kid: gone.

The jagged scar on her shoulder blade where a batarian knife had seared her as she stood over her dad's body: gone.

Her ankle tattoo of a swallow she had gotten as a dumb and emotional sixteen year-old: Gone.

Her N7 tattoo on her shoulder after graduating the Villa in Rio de Janeiro: gone.

And in its place was a perfect body with cybernetic implants, crafted to perfection. But there were other things missing as well. Callouses on her hands, for example.

 _You can't engineer_ _those_ _in a lab,_ thought Shepard with a snort of amusement. _Now I'll have to develop them all over again._

"So… what's the final word, then?" Shepard asked finally.

"Theoretically: you can move faster, hit harder, and heal quicker than you ever could before," Chakwas answered. "Though, please, for my sake: let's not test that last one."

Shepard chuckled. "Not if I can help it."

"Thank you."

Shepard pulled her shirt back on and reached for her pants.

"How are you doing… otherwise, Commander?" Chakwas asked. "This is a hell of a lot to process, all at once."

Shepard fastened her pants, then paused.

"I don't know, Karin," she said honestly. "I haven't really had time… pause. I think that my yeoman, Kelly Chambers…?"

"We've met," Chakwas nodded. "Charming girl."

"I think she's trying to shrink my head," Shepard continued. "She's… always coming around, making herself available…"

"Have you talked to her?"

"I don't _know her_ , Karin."

"Forgive me if I'm being presumptuous, but that might be for the best."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, she _doesn't_ know you, either. No assumptions, and no pre-conceived notions."

Shepard shook her head.

"I don't know… I just wish I could trust her."

"Talking with people is generally the first step to trust, Rebecca," Chakwas said softly, using Shepard's first name.

" **Commander?"** Joker's voice came over the intercom.

Shepard took a deep breath, then responded, "Go ahead, Joker."

" **ETA into Omega is about fifteen minutes."**

"Thanks, Joker. Tell Miranda and Jacob to suit up."

" **Roger that."**

Shepard looked at Chakwas and nodded. The doctor reached out a hand and squeezed her shoulder.

"Your friends are here for you, Shepard," she said.

Shepard didn't reply, but squeezed her friend's hand with her own, then turned to suit up in the Armory. After getting kitted up, she walked back to the CIC, where Miranda, Tallaxis, and Jacob were all waiting.

"Commander," Tallaxis said, flaring his biotics as he performed a hanar bow, "This one has been in contact with the _Imperator_. The _Indomitable_ docked a half-hour ago, and he is willing to meet you there, here on the _Normandy_ , on anywhere else on the station you'd like."

" **Commander,"** EDI spoke up, her gold orb activating on the wall. **"Aria T'Loak is the premier authority on Omega. Any information on Archangel or Professor Solus will most likely come from her. She rules the station from Club Afterlife."**

Shepard nodded. A talk with Ko'le was long overdue, but there were more pressing matters first.

"Tell Ko'le to meet us there," she instructed Tallaxis, who nodded his assent. The doors opened to real a heavily-armed batarian waiting at the edge of the gangplank. Her hand instinctively twitched towards her heavy pistol, but she walked slowly down.

"Welcome to Omega… Shepard," the batarian snarled.

"You know who I am?" she asked. _Unexpected_.

"You're not as clever as you think you are," sneered the batarian. "We had you flagged the second you entered the system. Aria wants to talk to you. NOW."

"I'm not looking for trouble," Shepard said, slowly and deliberately.

"That's for Aria to decide. If you're smart, you'll go… now."

"And if you're smart, you'll stop bothering the nice lady with your rude manners," a voice called out from behind him. Shepard and he both turned to see an older human, well-armored and well-armed, striding towards them. Scars covered his face, and one eye was frosted over, like it was some kind of crude glass prosthetic. The batarian almost visibly quailed, taking two steps back as the human approached.

"As in, right bloody _now,_ you brainless jamoke," the human repeated. "You've delivered your message. Now be a good _rif_ and go back to your master."

The batarian snarled at the insult, but didn't make any moves towards his weapons.

 _He's smarter than he looks,_ thought Shepard.

"Zaeed Massani?" she asked the human as the thug turned and walked away.

"The one and only," Zaeed confirmed, looking her up and down with his good eye. "I have to say, you look pretty good for dead, Shepard."

"I got better…" Shepard gestured noncommittally.

The chuckle she got in return confirmed that he had watched the same old movies she had.

"Know what that's like," Zaeed replied, gesturing toward his face. "That's how come I'm so pretty."

"I read the dossier from Ko'le," Shepard said, "You fought with him on the Citadel."

"Yeah, that's me," Zaeed confirmed. "Hell of a day. You swoop in and saved the whole goddam universe, and only a few years later, they're trying to forget it all ever happened. That's gratitude for ya."

"You work for the Conclave?" Shepard asked.

"Nothing so official," Zaeed said dismissively. "Ko'le and I have an understanding, that's all: I call, he answers. He calls, I answer. And…he called…"

"You have accommodation?" asked Shepard, noticing the duffel bag on the mercenary's back. "You're welcome to stow your kit on the _Normandy_ for now."

"An offer of good faith," Zaeed said, raising an eyebrow. "Thanks, Shepard. Watch your back on Omega. It's far less… _civilized_ than the places you frequent."

"Not recently," Shepard deadpanned.

Zaeed actually guffawed as he walked past onto the _Normandy_. "'Not recently.' Hehehe…Good one, Shepard…"

Tallaxis walked down the hangar bay, towards the docked _Indomitable._ Shepard and her two squadmates moved through the crowd, stepping over piles of trash, offal, and… other unrecognizable bits and pieces that Shepard didn't really want to think about.

"Omega… what a piss-hole," Miranda grimaced as they passed a _particularly_ rank vent hood. "I'm gonna have to shower when we get back to the ship. On top of normal detox protocols."

" _You will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy_ ," quoted Shepard.

" _We'd best keep out wits about us_ …" Jacob replied, smiling.

"What?" asked Miranda.

"Oh _come on_ , Miranda… Star Wars? Old Earth space-opera? It's a classic!" Jacob said in disbelief.

"I don't really watch many holo-vids..." confessed Miranda.

"Holo…. oh, that's it," Shepard declared, shaking her head. "Movie night on the _Normandy_ : You're getting an education, Miss Lawson."

"Oh _joy_ ," Miranda intoned unconvincingly.

The three of them arrived at Afterlife, the line to get in stretching around the corner. And elcor bouncer stood at the door, taking the money and handing out the threats as needed. Shepard walked to the front of the throng. Any objections at her cutting in line were overruled once people caught sight of the armor and weapons.

"Go on in," a batarian holding a datapad gestured to Shepard, "Aria's expecting you."

Shepard nodded, and the three of them moved past to enter the club. As they approached the doors, Shepard could hear sounds of blows being exchanged, and a _**wub wub whub**_ of biotics. She drew her sidearm, Miranda and Jacob following suit. The doors opened to reveal a gang of batarians being tossed around like rag dolls by three individuals. One of them, in a suit of samurai armor, warped two the batarians across the hall, both of them coming to a stop at her feet. The other two were both in various stages of punching or kicking their opponents into unconsciousness. The samurai turned, and Shepard saw the dreads.

"Shepard!" Ko'le called out, bending over to pick up one of the batarians who was attempting to crawl away, clutching at an obviously broken foot. "Sorry about the mess, but apparently these mooks couldn't recognize an easy target from someone who absolutely _do not fuck with_ ," he said, directing the last words at the cringing, blubbering "mook." "Now," said Ko'le, "Apologize to the lady…" he gestured to one of his companions.

"Phforry," the batarian blubbered, blood coming from his nose and from in-between missing teeth.

"Good boy." Ko'le unceremoniously dropped him, the batarian howling in pain from suddenly placing weight on his broken leg. Shepard and the rest carefully stepped over the sprawled, unconscious bodies.

"Glad to see you haven't lost your diplomatic touch," Shepard said, looking around.

"Carrots and sticks," Ko'le said, shrugging, "To borrow a human phrase. This is Kolyat Krios," he introduced, and a drell in light armor straightened and nodded towards her.

"And this is Reyna." An asari turned and nodded towards her. Then Shepard noticed that the asari was _green_. The she noticed she was _definitely not_ an asari.

"She's a Thorian," Ko'le explained, seeing the confusion on her face. "The offspring of Protector-of-the-Weak, as a matter of fact."

"Uh… hello," Shepard said slowly. "Nice to meet you."

"And you, Shepard," Reyna said, her voice warm and cheerful. "My dad has told me so much about you."

"Come on," Ko'le said, gesturing onward to break the awkward silence. "Let's go meet with the Queen of Omega."

"Is that what she calls herself?" Shepard asked incredulously.

"Only when she's feeling dramatic."

The club was what Shepard might expect: a mass of dancing, sweaty bodies writing around platforms where asari strippers pole-danced and posed seductively.

"Shepard and I go alone from here," Ko'le called out to the others. "Stay here, and keep your eyes and ears open."

Nods were given in return, and Shepard followed Ko'le through the crowd towards a set of stairs on the other side. A turian was standing guard at the bottom.

"Grizz," Ko'le greeted him, "Long time, no see."

The shoulder slump and long sigh the turian gave him indicated to Shepard that it apparently not been long _enough_ for the turian.

"Aria said to expect you and Shepard," he said, almost dejectedly. "Top of the stairs…"

"Thank you, Grizz," Ko'le said warmly. "Always good to see you."

"Yeah, yeah..."

Shepard and Ko'le moved up to the raised dais overlooking the club. Here, the noise from the club was somewhat muted, but the _**thum thum thum**_ of the beat could still be heard, if not felt. A purple asari reclined on a couch, looking out over the club.

"That's far enough, _Seneschal_ ," Aria said, without even turning her head.

"Aria?" asked Shepard. Ko'le nodded. A batarian (the same one from the docks) stepped forward, starting to scan her with an Omni-Tool.

"You're in bad company, Shepard," Aria said, slowly turning her head to look at her. "After Ko'le's last visit, it seems every time he visits Omega, people tend to get downright twitchy."

"Last visit?" asked Shepard. Ko'le shrugged.

"Shot some people. Beheaded others. It was a good day… for _everyone_ ," he emphasized to Aria.

"She's clean," the batarian declared, and then stepped towards Ko'le.

"Raise that arm to scan me, Anto, and you'll lose the arm," Ko'le said, his voice dropping.

Anto looked at Aria, concern and worry crossing his expression. Aria shook her head slightly, and waved them forward. Looking positively relieved, Anto stepped aside as the two of them sat down opposite Aria.

"Everyone who wants something on Omega eventually comes to me. However, when a dead Spectre and a Prothean super-human come onto my station, I tend to worry," Aria said, looking back over her domain. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm not here to cause trouble," Shepard explained.

"Good, because there is only one rule that matters here on Omega," Aria said, leaning forward to emphasize each word:  
"Don't. Fuck. With. Aria."

Shepard and Ko'le nodded with the appropriate level of acknowledgement and respect.

"Now," Aria said, leaning back again. "What can I do for you?"

"Do you know anything about someone named Archangel?" asked Shepard.

 _That_ got Aria's attention, as she suddenly gave Shepard her full attention.

"You looking to kill him, too? Everyone else on Omega is."

"Just want to talk to him," Shepard said, avoiding letting Aria know about her and Garrus' past. "Why? What's he done?"

"Managed to piss off the Blood Pack, the Eclipse, and what remains of the Blue Suns here on the station, that's what," answered Aria. "Goddess-damned fool brought his _morals_ and _code of_ _honor_ to a lawless station, and started shooting everyone who didn't agree with them. Around here, that's enough for most people to want you dead."

"Including you?" asked Shepard.

"No," admitted Aria. "Whatever else Archangel is, he's not _stupid_. He hasn't tried to interfere with _my_ people, but he sure as hell went after everyone else, and went after them hard."

"Sounds like the perfect guy for me," Shepard said, looking slyly at Ko'le. "I'm recruiting a team of the best for a mission. He's on the list."

Aria raised an eyebrow. "If you're looking to take him off-station, I can list a dozen mob bosses and warlords who'd thank you. But you'll have to act fast."

"What does that mean?" asked Shepard.

"Last I heard, all three gangs had joined up to kill him," Aria said nonchalantly. "Have him trapped in an apartment complex in the lower levels, along with that little band of vigilantes of his."

Shepard started to get up immediately, but Ko'le held out a hand to stop her.

"We plan on getting him out," he said. "but… it could get ugly."

"That does tend to happen around the two of you," Aria said with a grin. "And after all, whatever happens, the three gangs will be weakened, which suits my purposes just fine: It's hard to keep the balance of power on this station if any of the gangs start to get ideas."

"We're looking for someone else, too," Ko'le added. "Mordin Solus. Know where we can find him?"

"The salarian doctor?" Aria seemed confused. "Last I heard, he had a clinic down in the deep Levels. Had a few military-grade mechs helping him defend the place. From I hear, he doesn't really need them. He incinerated the last gang that tried to shake him down for money, and hung their bodies outside as a warning. So far, everyone else has left him alone."

"Thank you for your time," Ko'le said, standing. "We'll do our best to stay out of your people's way, provided that they stay out of ours."

Aria waved dismissively. The two of them walked back down the stairs.

"Ko'le," Shepard said quickly, once they were out of earshot of Aria, "I'm getting Garrus out of there. Now."

"Count me in," Ko'le reassured. "We'll get him, Shepard, don't worry. But we'll need a plan to get us in close. And I think I know just the way…"

* * *

 ***OMEGA STATION*  
SAHRABARIK SYSTEM  
OMEGA NEBULA**

"This is _insane."_

I duly noted Jacob's opinion of our entry strategy, smiling silently.

"I know, right?" Pyke Morrell answered, and I could _hear_ the grin on his face.

"No, Ko'le," Shepard's voice came over the radio. "This is, without doubt, the _stupidest_ thing I have _ever done_."

"And yet… here you are," I observed dryly.

"And you say that you've done this _before_ , Imperator _?"_ Turro'le was trying to mask the doubt and panic from his voice. And was not succeeding.

"Just be thankful we're in a Drop Pod, Turro," Zaeed chuckled. That's more than we had last time…"

" _What?"_

"Brace yourselves," I said, using the winch we had… _commandeered_ to dangle the Drop Pod over the edge of the station. "Juuuuuuusssssst….. _There!"_

The readout of the station had us placed directly over the apartment complex where Garrus and his contingent of the Talons were being besieged by the Triumvirate of the Blue Sun, Blood Pack, and Eclipse.

"Wait a second, you're not coming with us?" Shepard asked, her voice rising in pitch just _slightly_.

"Oh, I am," I said, locking down the drop trajectory and ensuring that we weren't going to have any unfortunate collisions with any sky-cars or shuttles on the way down. "I'm just taking the… express elevator."

"What does that mean?"

"I'm jumping down after you. I'll lay down cover fire as you deploy from the DropPod."

"Are you _insane?_ That's a thirty-story drop!"

"Twenty-seven," I shrugged. "The last time I was here, it was… forty."

"Madmen," Turro'le said, shaking his head. "I'm surrounded by madmen."

" _Fuck_ , I hope this works," I said into the radio, grinning like an idiot.

"Wait, Whaaaaaaaaaa –" Shepard started to object, but was cut off as I hit the "Release." The pod plummeted towards our destination: the 89th level, a district called the Deep (for obvious reasons). I leapt down after it, making my body as small as a target as possible, so as to overtake the DropPod. The wind was rushing past us, bringing with it the stench of rot, garbage, and eezo purification plants.

As we rapidly neared our destination, the sound of gunfire could be heard growing louder and louder. Beneath us, a firefight could be seen taking place between the apartment complex and the surrounding buildings. Four bridges extended out towards the complex in the center, seated in a kind of island. And it was towards one of those bridges that we were now plummeting.

 _Mother above, I hope this bridge can take the weight…_

At the last possible second, the four booster engines fired on each side of the Drop Pod, slowing the decent from a suicidal plummet to a controlled fall. The pod came to a crashing halt… directly on top of a group of unfortunate mercs. I, on the other hand, flared my biotics just…. _Now._

I came down with a thunderous **whoosh** of biotic energy, flinging freelancers in every direction, a few of them over the edge and down to the abyss beneath us. I reached back and unfolded my Battle Rifle, blasting back a few who were regaining their feet quicker than others.

The Drop Pod's doors opened, and my five compatriots now exited, glad I think, to be on somewhat solid ground again. Shepard's Battle Rifle _**hummed**_ in concert with mine, and Jacob launched a Push that sent a group flat on their backs. They didn't get back up. Pyke Morrel's twin SMGs were in his hands now, their bayonets slashing any unfortunate unlucky enough to be within arms-reach. In Zaeed's hands, Jesse barked once, twice, and two mercs fell flat.

"They slaughter easier than _dupha_!" Turro'le observed with a laugh, firing his bolts into the huddled mass that had been created at the far side of the bridge. Those in front were scrambling backwards for cover, while who were behind were attempting to advance at the same time. The Raloian was right: for the most part, the freelancers around us were simple gangbangers, with cast-off shields and cheap armor.

In short, they didn't have a fucking _prayer_.

Two of the prone figures leapt to their feet and attempted to rush Shepard. They were so desperate they weren't even bothering with guns, just a mad football tackle from behind.

"Shepard! BEHIND!" I yelled in warning.

The first human Spectre didn't even _look_ , just sent out a back-kick that caught the first one right in the groin. He went grey and pitched forward, vomiting his toenails over his boots. The second pulled a rusty… _shiv_ is the only word I can use to describe it, because I would hate to misuse the word "knife", and slashed wildly. Shepard side-stepped the panicked swing, then brought her rifle butt up, _hard_. It connected with his jaw, and his head snapped back at a very unnatural angle, and he fell like a limp rag. Shepard then took one leap forward, catching the still-retching merc with a knee to the side of the cranium. He went stiff as a board, his arms curling up at his chest like some kind of T-Rex pantomime, and went down hard.

 _Hero of the Citadel and Lioness of Elysium, indeed,_ I thought.

"FALL BACK in good order!" Shepard called, re-charging her Battle Rifle. "Massani! Morrell! Cover Fire!"

The group of us backed away down the bridge, back towards the apartment complex. I could see figures running back and forth between the top windows, sniper rifles picking off the survivors of the bloody swath we had just carved. When we reached the gate, two black-armored turians pushed aside a metal door from the top of a hastily-erected barricade.

"In here, quick!" one of them called. The six of us scrambled over, each of us turning to cover those who were behind.

"Taylor, give me a hand?" I asked, and the Corsair nodded in reply. Flaring biotics, we pulled the several-hundred kilogram door back into position, blocking off that entrance entirely.

"Whew," one of the turians said, wiping his brow. "You folks sure know how to make an entrance."

"Is Archangel here?" Shepard asked.

"He's over on the other side," the other turian, a female, answered. "He's trying to coordinate our relief force."

"Well, we're the relief for now, boyo," Zaeed said, planting his rifle across his shoulders.

"ummm…. Right," the first turian said, then extended his hand. "My name's Melenis and that's my sister Mierin."

"Commander Shepard: Council Spectre," Shepard said, taking the hand. "This is my team."

"SPIRITS," Melenis said, drawing his hand back as if it was on fire. " _You're_ Shepard?! We heard you were _dead!_ "

"Obviously _not_ , Bird-Brain," Mierin chided. "Forgive my brother, Commander: he's a little slow. Follow me, I'll take you to Archangel. Melenis, guard the fucking door."

We set off, Melenis never taking his eyes off Shepard for a second.

"And close your mouth, kid," Zaeed said over his shoulder. "You look like an idiot…."

 _That_ seemed to shock him back to reality, and he quickly fumbled with his rifle, mumbling curses under his breath.

"Siblings, right?" Mierin asked Shepard as we were walking.

"I dunno," Shepard shrugged. "Don't had any."

 _Oh… yeah. That's gonna be awkward….._ I thought.

"Lucky you," Mierin rolled her eyes.

We walked up several flights of stairs until we reached the top floor. It opened into some kind of Common Area, with several suites off of a single large room. Huddled around a table on the far side were several figures in black…

…and one in blue.

"NO, dammit, tell Kandros to get Weaver and Vortash in the air, NOW. I need some goddamn air support, otherwise they're gonna keep raining down rockets on our asses," Garrus was saying angrily as we approached.

"Garrus?" Shepard asked, _almost anxiously_ , I thought.

VERY slowly, Garrus turned around, taking in the sight of his once-dead Commander.

" _Shepard_ ," he said breathlessly. "It's _really_ you."

"Afraid so," Shepard grinned, but I could see the hint of tears in her eyes. "Didn't think you could get rid of me that easily, could you?"

"Hell, Shepard," Garrus said, the strain in his voice evident as well, "You look pretty good for dead…"

The two friends strode forward quickly, and an embrace was shared.

"You know how it is, Garrus," I said, stepping forward, "We heard you had bitten more then even _your_ big mouth could chew, so we thought we'd come down here and pull your ass out of the fire, for old time's sake."

Garrus chuckled, breaking the hug with Shepard. "It's good to see you too, Ko'le."

"What's the Sit-Rep?" Shepard asked, composing herself again.

""Just like old times," Garrus said, "Mobs of krogan and Blue Suns trying to kill us, Eclipse assassins all about, and we're completely surrounded in a hopeless situation. Those bridges are the only reason we're still alive. It funnels them into our crossfire and turns them into killing fields. But…"

"It works both ways," Zaeed finished. "You can't get out of here without being exposed yourselves."

"That's about it," Garrus said. "The Talons have been trying to break through to us, but the Blue Suns have got them pinned down on the lower levels. It would take a hundred rifles to defend this place properly, and I have twenty-six, half of which were street kids only a week ago."

Just then, a low rumble shook the building.

" **Archangel, come in,"** came a voice on the radio.

"Go ahead, Sidonis."

"We've got krogan in the basement! Looks like they tunneled in through the lower levels!"

"Hang on! We're on our…"

"Archangel! Here they come again!" came a cry from one of the snipers at the windows. "Looks like they're trying all sides at once!"

"Well, they had to start using their brains eventually," Garrus sighed grimly. "Monteague, take point on the western wall. Have Sensat take the north, and the twins will hold the south!"

He turned back to us.

"I'm headed down to the basement. Can you hold things here, Shepard?"

"You stay here and coordinate, Garrus," I said, stepping forward. "Massani and Shepard can stay here with you. Taylor, Morrell, and Turro and I will secure the lower levels."

Garrus and Shepard shared a momentary look, then both nodded at me.

"Stay sharp, Ko'le," Shepard said as the four of us headed back towards the staircase.

"Hey…" I said, shrugging my shoulders, "It's me… and you know I always have a plan, Shepard."

The last thing I saw before heading down was her rolling her eyes dramatically.

"Krogan in tight, enclosed hallways," Jacob was saying in the stairwell beneath me. "Could be a problem."

"Nonsense, lad," Pyke dismissed flippantly, "A jolly ol' incendiary, and there's nowhere for them to bally run. The enclosed spaces works both ways, doncha know?"

"And I've yet to meet armor that Turro's bow can't punch through," I added. "That'll slow them down."

"I have developed a great appreciation for these _kro-Gan_ ," Turro said admiringly. "They are fearless in battle, and their ferocity is unmatched."

"Yeah, that's great and all, but the problem here is that they're trying to _kill_ us," Jacob said.

"And _their_ problem is that _you_ are trying to kill _them_ , Taylor- _sho_."

Jacob only grunted in reply.

The lower levels connected the "island" above us to the rest of the station. Drain pipes and exhaust vents ran along the walls, along with sparking power cables and flickering lights. Gunfire up ahead told us that we were headed in the right direction. The massive explosion as we drew nearer seemed to confirm that belief.

I held up a hand as we approached the final intersection, bringing out party to a halt.

"HELLO, AHEAD!" I called out. "FRIENDLIES INBOUND!"

"Come ahead!" a turian voice acknowledged. "Ripper, cover fire!"

The unmistakable whine of a grenade being tossed was heard, and a krogan cursed right before the explosion. I rounded the bend, gun up, searching for targets. A krogan was slowly recovering his feet next to a comrade who looked like he'd absorbed the entire explosive force of the grenade. I fired once, a bolt from Turro striking him simultaneously. He jerked once and laid back down, motionless.

Up ahead, a turian and a vorcha pup were waiting for their weapons to cool down. The turian held an assault rifle and the vorcha a low-model SMG. Both looked heavily modified ( _Garrus has been here_ , I grinned inwardly). I took position behind the crate opposite them.

"SIT-REP?"

"Fucked to hell and back," Lantar Sidonis answered, "Glad to get some back-up now, though."

"WAZZAT?" the vorcha pup (who I assumed was the "Ripper" referred to earlier) asked, pointing at Turro. Sidonis swatted him on the side of the head, and Turro merely rolled his eyes, then sent two bolts in quick succession down the hallway. Grunts of pain followed each one, and a dull thud echoed down the hallway.

"He's the big fella what's gonna pull your bacon out of the fire, lad, so stay sharp!" Pyke called over, grinning broadly all the while.

"We push forward," I said, venting my Battle Rifle. "This hallway is a trap, yes, but it works both ways. Pretty soon _they'll_ be the ones chucking grenades into this deathtrap."

Sidonis nodded, albeit somewhat dubiously. "Six guns…. Against the Blood Pack?"

Uncertainty and fear wavered in his eyes.

 _The same fear and uncertainty that caused him to betray his team in the game-universe._

I reached out and grabbed his shoulder. His eyes re-focused on me.

"Remember your training, soldier," I said, "Pick your targets: bring down their shields, then put two to the chest and one to the head. Two, if he's a krogan."

Sidonis smiled mirthlessly, but nodded.

"MOVE!"

On my command, we vaulted forward, my rifle taking down shields, and Turro's bow impaling any unfortunate enough to find themselves without cover. Jacob was sending out biotic Throws, while Pyke was still lobbing grenades. We stepped over the bodies of four krogan before we ran out of hallway and it opened into a wide, open-framed warehouse. Jacob and I had to throw up a biotic shield at the last second, as the Blood Pack had gotten smart and decided to catch us in a crossfire as we emerged from the hallway. I maintained the shield as Jacob pulled nearby crates to create a makeshift bunker that we could hold against all comers. With those in place, I finally collapsed the biotic field, sighing with relief and sweating profusely.

"What explosives do we have?" I asked.

"Ripper have BIG BOOMERS!" the vorcha pup said, opening his satchel to reveal several military-grade explosive charges.

"You've had those… in a _bag_ … this _whole time?"_ Sidonis asked incredulously. "Why the hell…"

"Pyke, take the pup and plant them all along the hallway," I instructed. "When we get a second, we'll book it back down the hallway and blow it behind us. That should delay them long enough for our purposes."

"Now we just need to buy time," Turro said, re-charging his war-bow. "An item that often proves expensive in battle."

"I know, I know," I acknowledged. "We just need to…"

"I CONFESS MYSELF DISAPPOINTED!"

The roar cut off whatever half-baked plan I had been coming up with on the spot. I paused, realizing for the first time that the Blood Pack had ceased fire.

"I expected MORE from the great Ko'le VOIDWALKER!"

I peered over the barricade. A lone, massive krogan in red armor was standing out in the open, covered by a score of his bodyguards.

"And I expected more of a fight from the Great Warlord Garm of the Blood Pack!" I shouted back, happy to take up time talking. "But word on the street is that you've lost your vorcha's loyalty! Even rats leave a sinking ship, I guess…"

The krogan growled, lifting a Claymore shotgun into position.

"Fight me, _chethnik_ , if you dare!" he bellowed. "Let us see whose ship shall sink this day…"

As the rest of his horde howled their approval, I was getting an earful from my team.

"There is no need for this, sir," Sidonis was saying.

"We can just blow the tunnel and leave him to rot on the other side," Jacob was saying.

"Single combat is a great honor," Turro'le was saying.

"I can take him," I said, interrupting all of them. "And it buys us time to plant the charges. And I would prefer not to leave Garm alive after today, if I can help it."

I drew my sword and engaged my Omni-Shield.

"Let's _kill_ this sonovabitch."

I vaulted over the barricade, flourishing my blade and landing with a biotic light-show. Garm's krogan roared their approval, and began pounding their armor, their weapons, or basically anything that came to hand in rhythmic chant of "Fight! FIGHT! FIGHT!"

Garm only grunted, flaring his nostrils in a _**huff**_ , then raised his shotgun. I flared my barriers, the flechettes bouncing off with a hollow _**poooong**_.

 _Oh, so it's gonna be like_ _ **that**_ _then, you overgrown turtle?_ I thought, rushing forward. Garm switched a lever, and an ENORMOUS bayonet deployed on his shotgun.

 _Shit._

As we closed, honestly, the only thing going through my head was the fact that _that_ was the only thing going through my head. Typically, I was trying to channel Ko'le's fighting abilities and training while doing my best to filter out Kevin's panic.

Now, there was only a startling, frankly a bit unsettling, _silent_ clarity in my mind. One I hadn't felt since… Therum, to be honest… nearly two years ago.

 _Has it really been that short of a time? On the other hand, has it been that_ _long_ _?_

I brought my sword up, slicing an exposed armpit as Garm swung wildly. Everything seemed to be moving in slow motion by comparison. Garm's swings seemed clumsy and lethargic, his charges lumbering and slow. I raised my shield to block a blow coming at me.

And got knocked on my ass about 15 feet away.

 _Ok. New plan: don't try to match this guy with brute force._

Garm was breathing hard, bleeding from about 3 or 4 places where Lieutenant has found his armor wanting. However, by krogan standards, his wounds were superficial. Another few good knocks like that last one, and I _wouldn't_ be doing so well and this fight would be over.

 _Plan B, then_.

I deactivated my Omni-Shield, taking Lieutenant in a two-handed grip. Biotics swirling around me, I launched myself into as high of a leap as the ceiling would allow, sword raised high. Garm only raised an eyebrow in derision and raised his gun to block the mighty blow…

…that never came.

As I descended, my sword raised behind left shoulder, I suddenly folded the blade and sheathed it behind my back in one effortless motion. I landed, not with the almighty burst of dark energy that I had suggested, but on my toes, sinking to one knee at Garm's feet. Garm, still bracing for the strike he just _knew_ was coming, had a look of confusion on his face, shotgun still upraised. Rising up, I activated both of my Omni-Blades, driving them under his chin into the brain cavity. The red eyes glazed over, and the giant krogan began pitching forward, slowly. I stepped back, holding one hand out, taking the comically oversized Claymore shotgun from now-limp fingers as the leader of the Blood Pack collapsed in a crashing heap on the floor.

Before the others could recover from their shock, I leapt into the air again and pulled the trigger on the shotgun. The gun's _massive_ kick turned a light hop backwards into a flying leap that carried me all the way back to my team's barricade, albeit landing in an awkward tumble. Jacob pulled me to my feet in a rush of blue biotics, just as the rest of Garm's krogan began to fully process what had just happened. Bellowing vengeance, they came on, blood-drunk.

"GO!" I shouted. The four of us booked it back down the tunnel, running into Ripper and Pyke as they were returning from planting the charges. It was a pell-mell run back down the tunnel, and the krogan were too intent on revenge to notice the red-flashing lights on the wall.

"MORRELL! NOW!"

The shockwave from the detonation knocked us all on our faces, but when we got back up, rubble blocked the entire hallway, floor to ceiling.

"I'd say we've taken care of our Blood Pack problem," Sidonis said, brushing dust off his armor and shaking it from his gun.

"A good fight, _Imperator_ ," Turro complemented me. "One worthy of tale and song."

"Yes, well," I murmured, "Time for all of that later. Shall we return top-side, where we're most likely to be needed?"

As we emerged back into the lobby of the complex, the first thing I noticed were the row of bodies that were now along the wall, covered in sheets. Batarians, turians, and even some salarians and humans. All in Talon armor. Shepard was sitting with Garrus on the window sill, and Zaeed was apparently instructing a group of younger Talons _(Father below, they're all so young!_ I thought) a quick heat-vent trick for their rifles.

"Did you… SPIRITS!" Garrus exclaimed, glancing down at the shotgun I placed unceremoniously on the nearest table. "I see you met Weyrloc Garm."

"We did run into each down there," I nodded casually.

"He's gonna be pissed he lost that," chuckled Garrus. "That's his pride and joy."

"He's missing several other things I imagine he's more preoccupied with," I replied. "Like his life, for example."

"Garm is dead?" Garrus said, then let out a long sigh, bending over and placing his hands on his knees.

"Garrus, you ok?" Shepard asked.

"Great, just relieved that bastard at least got what was coming to him," Garrus sighed, "Tried to take him down myself, you know. Tough _son of a bitch_. Toughest fight I've ever been in. Would've had him, too, but his bodyguards showed up and I had to leg it."

"We blew the tunnels underneath as well," I added. "It was either that or get bottlenecked by hordes of rampaging krogan."

"Well, there was no chance of getting out that way anyway," Garrus said dismissively. "Now we _have_ to hole up here until reinforcements come."

"Not necessarily," Shepard disagreed. "Take a look at the…"

Suddenly she paused, listening intently. A high-pitched whine could be heard, growing steadily louder. Zaeed was the first to identify it.

"SEEKER!" the old veteran yelled, diving for the floor.

"GET THE FUCK DOWN!" Shepard bellowed, in _that_ way only she could. Everyone hit the deck, except a few of the more clueless kids, who were still trying to locate the _exact_ source of the ear-splitting whine coming towards them. Garrus ran over and sent a kick that sent one of them to the ground, hard.

"Archangel, get down!" Sidonis said, dropping his rifle and dive-tackling the blue-armored turian to the ground.

 _Just_ before all hell broke loose. A massive explosion rocked the building, and one of the outside walls seemed to disappear into a swirling maelstrom of concrete dust. When it cleared, a black gunship could be seen descending to get a better look at the destruction.

" **ARCHANGEL! YOU SEE WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU CHALLENGE THE BLUE SUNS!?"** a voice bellowed over the loudspeaker.

"Tarak," Zaeed coughed, crawling for Jesse a short distance away. "Seriously, _fuck that guy_ …"

Shepard was the first one up, her rifle already trained on the gunship.

"Ko'le! Drain its shields!" she shouted, opening fire.

I reached over my right shoulder and drew my own gun, our two Quarian rifles firing on the stationary target. Tarak banked hard to the left, breaking line of sight and giving his shields a change to recharge. A shuttle flew _right_ overhead, and several blue and white-armored figuresrappelled down on the building. My sword was back in my hand, and I rolled toward the nearest one as he landed, driving my sword into his neck. Hand-to-hand fighting was now taking place all around the room, Turro'le lashing out in all directions with a dizzying combination of punches and kicks, helmet visors shattering upon impact. We could hear the gunship slowly making its run back around, towards the hole in the side of the building it had created. Shepard started running straight for the breach full-speed, flipping one Blue Sun stupid enough to be in her way completely over her as she bowled into him. She reached the edge… and _jumped_.

My heart just about went into my throat as I saw her hang in mid-air for just a second… before the gun ship came up into view.

I have never been happier to see an enemy gunship…

Shepard's leap carried her an impossibly long distance, sending her crashing into the cockpit of the gunship, cracking the glass beneath her. Tarak banked again, trying to shake her off. She rolled forward and engaged her mag-boots, anchoring her to the roof. Her rifle fired again, this time one continuous stream, directed at the right engine, wearing down first the shields, and then the armor, and then finally bursting into fire and smoke. As it started to descend into a tailspin, Shepard ran down the length of the ship, and leapt back towards the building.

 _Too far!_

Almost unbidden, my arm outstretched, flaring blackish-green. The glow surrounded her as she started to fall, then she rose slowly back up to our level.

"Good catch," she said, half-smiling.

"Don't mention it," I said, returning the grin.

Zaeed's eyes were wide, clear admiration stamped on his expression.

" _Damn_ , Shepard," he breathed, "That was…. Something. And I've seen a thing to two in my time."

Shepard stated to reply, but then looked around the room.

"Where's Garrus?"

"HERE!" Jacob's voice came from a larger pile of rubble than the rest. We ran over, pulling cinder blocks and bricks off two prone turian forms. Shepard leaned over Garrus, while I rolled Sidonis over. Even before I did, though, I could see the end of a rebar shard protruding from his back. As I rolled him over, the other end of could be seen coming out his chest.

Lantar Sidonis was dead.

 _You died a hero, instead of being shot as a coward and traitor_ , I thought, _A good death_ _indeed, brother._ _Rest you, now._

I reached out and closed his eyes, my own turning white as I repeated the Invocation:

 _Mother, your child has been taken from thy bosom.  
Send him unto thy husband, as a son unto his Father. _

_Father, another of thy children comes to thine embrace: a gift from thy lover, his Mother.  
Fold him in thy arms, for he has lived a life worthy of this death.  
Lead him unto his rest, or his rebirth, as thou seest fit. _

_So mote it be…_

I had not said the words of The Prayer for…. So _long, now…._

I turned to Shepard, who was prepping Omni-Gel. Blue blood was pouring down from the right side of his face, and his eyes were fluttering open and shut.

"He's unconscious," Shepard answered my unspoken question, applying the Medi-Gel.

" _Shit._ Another abdominal wound, Commander," Jacob said, doing the same to that site.

Shepard and I shared a look. Everyone here had been on enough battlefields to know what gut-wounds tended to do to folk.

"We have to get him back to the _Normandy_ ," Shepard said grimly, grabbing sterile bandages out of her pack.

" **Archangel!? Archangel? Damn it, Garrus, come in!"** the radio on the floor nearby crackled. I looked at Shepard, then moved to pick it up.

"Archangel is wounded," I answered. "This is Voidwalker. What's the situation?"

" **Wounded… damn it…."** The asari voice seemed to moan, then came back with a vengeance, with fire and authority in the voice, " **Sensat Veralis here, sir. It looks like whoever's left of the Blue Suns and Blood Pack are prepping for a final rush here on the West Side. They've got tons of Eclipse mechs in support now….LOKIs and YMIRs both."**

"Dem and confound it!" Pyke cursed. "That'll be a shift to handle, and no mistake, sah."

I grinned in reply.

"Not to worry, Veralis," I said into the radio, "Actually, I think that problem will pretty much take care of itself..."

I brought up my Omni-Tool, dialing a specific encrypted address:

 _Morinth:_

 _Let Angels Fly._

– _Voidwalker_

* * *

"FOR MY FATHER!" Weyrloc Gundan bellowed, his warhammer in hand. "BLOOD-RIGHT!"

The rest of the Blood Pack echoed his cry and began to follow him across the bridge. Following them closely were what remained of Tarak's Blue Suns. They were not looking particularly pleased to be there, but following his orders, nonetheless.

 _This is it,_ Gundan thought in triumph. _By tonight, I'll be bathing in Archangel's blood. And since Tarak and my father were kind enough to get themselves killed, the Blue Suns and Blood Pack are now leaderless. With both of them together, I could challenge even Aria T'Loak for control of this station. Now if I can only arrange that Eclipse bitch to have an accident… or possibly submit to me?_

Even as he charged, Gundan was imagining all things he'd like to _do_ to the Eclipse asari commander when the first rocket struck. The shockwave took him off his feet, and he hit the ground, hard. He grunted to push himself back up to his feet, but for some reason, his body wasn't complying. He glanced down and then located the cause of his troubles: He didn't have a right foot anymore.

Fighting back the panic and the shock, Gundan called for someone to help him to his feet. When his cry when unanswered, he glanced around… and again, located the cause of his troubles: his men, his horde, were dying around him in droves.

 _Someone's gotten behind us,_ he thought, _but how…?_

Then he saw a LOKI mech walk up to a wounded Blue Sun crawling for the far side of the bridge and put two slugs in the back of his head. An YMIR mech fired another rocket, scattering a group of krogan that were attempting to rally.

"TRAITORS!" he bellowed, pulling a pistol from his back and taking out two mechs and an Eclipse salarian. "FUCKING TRAI-"

He then felt a _jerk_ , and then noticed that he had stopped firing… because his arm was missing. The pain didn't register: he had too much rage in his system for that, coupled with the shock. A yellow armored figure appeared in front of his swimming vision.

"D'len?" he said groggily, his own voice sounding strange, far-off, and echo-y. "WHY?"

The asari raised her hand, the barrel of a pistol coming in and out of focus for the wounded krogan. He could just barely make out the asari's reply, echoing in his brain as all turned to darkness:

"A girl's gotta do _crazy things for love_ , sugar…"

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

 **Hope you all like this chapter! Lots of stuff all coming together for our favorite band of heroes.  
A bunch of you have noted that a few of the Mass Effect 2 missions are now impossible (as they were in the game), due to Ko'le's interventions. The rest of book will follow the same basic story-line of ME:2, of course altered and tweaked, due to the SI/OC nature of the story.  
Yes, the **_**Normandy**_ **will have a crew once again. They may not be the same as the game, or recruited in the same way, but that's the way of these fanfics, isn't it?  
Hope you'll stick around to see, I'm excited to see what you guys think, of both this chapter and all the chapters to come! **

**\- Tusken1602**

* * *

Reviewer Responses:

Sheity Williams – Knock on wood… :D

Nagato21, BrotherCaptainSheperd – Ko'le is going to have his own ship, (the _Indomitable_ ) providing support for the _Normandy_ for her missions, and sometimes splitting up to save time. And we're gonna see some new characters, as well of course, the old favorites…

Zeru'Xil, Hiei-Uchinha, Pietersielie – I think that's the system we'll be following for now: 1st person Ko'le, 3rd Shepard/anyone else.

ChaosRonin, Squadpunk 2.0, tamagat – Yes, because everyone knows complicated mental problems are solved completely the first time… right? Right? ;)

METALHELLSPWN, AlsoKnownAsMatt – I'm excited to bring in a few more OCs to Awakening. Reyna is one of my personal favorites at the moment.

BJ Hanssen, Blaze1992 – I'm looking forward to that reunion myself… oh, wait, I have to write it still. Still excited.

Anny-Rudolph – "For the Fallen ones…" :-) That hadn't occurred to me, actually, but I love that it speaks to you!

OSR fanatic, redcollector, Elvisfonz23, Guest, Peon, Rmito, dragons guard, general-joseph-dickson – Thanks, everybody! Awesome comments, as usual! (Of course, there is no such thing as a bad review, in my opinion).

ROCK ON, EVERYBODY!


	4. Chapter 4: Our Long Talk

***CSV _INDOMINABLE*_**

"How's Garrus?"

Nyreen Kandros stood on the opposite side of the table, her hands behind her back in the traditional turian military at-rest position.

"Still in surgery," I answered, putting down a datapad. "But the _Normandy_ 's doctor is the best surgeon in the verse. If anybody can pull through, it's Garrus."

"I lost good men on account of the plan of yours," Nyreen said accusingly. "If you'd have just let us through the Eclipse lines…"

"You would've had a street-by-street, house-to-house, and level-by-level gang war on this station for the next two decades," I cut her off. "We needed _all_ of their leadership in one place, with all of their heavy hitters and their muscle. They needed to believe they had almost won, so they would commit even their reserves for a final push."

Nyreen's face twitched. I continued, in a gentler tone,

"I, too, mourn the loss of good men like Sidonis. The lives of good soldiers is never something I take lightly, Miss Kandros. But I made the decision so that hundreds, maybe thousands, of good soldiers and civilians alike, would not suffer his same fate. The men who died today fell for a cause, noble, brave, and true. Do not cheapen their sacrifice with guilt."

Nyreen said nothing, staring at the floor, but she nodded.

"Now, what is the status of our forces on-station, D'len?" I asked the yellow-clad asari reclining on the couch on the other side of the room. Morinth stood slowly, passing me another datapad.

"Most of the sub-level commandants of the Blue Suns and Blood Pack are dead," she said simply. "My huntresses and commandos, as well as Massani's Black Suns, moved to fill the void. The street dealers and local pimps and punks are on board, but they'll follow anybody who's got a bigger gun than them."

"Just have to make sure that's us," I said putting the datapad down on the desk. "In short, Eclipse has doubled its territory, the remaining Blue Suns have taken the Black, and the Talons are securing levels 90 through 72. That's an increase of…" I did the math, "… 1800% more territory for the Talons?"

"I'm not doing this for the money or the power," Nyreen snapped defensively.

"No, you're doing this for the people on the station," I mollified.

"Which is kinda hard to do without, say, money or… what was the other thing?" Morinth added, dramatically tapping a finger on her chin, "Was it morals? No, no, that's ridiculous…Oh, yeah, power!"

"The Talons have gone from neighborhood punks and smugglers to the third largest gang on this station," I continued, shooting a glare in Morinth's direction. "That means that your anonymity most likely cannot be maintained, Miss Kandros. You'll have to treat with… Aria."

Fear, doubt, and hesitation, (and _was that a turian blush?_ ) flashed across Nyreen's face, and she set to studying the corner of the room very intensely.

"W-w-we… have a b-b-bit of history," she said, slowly, stammering. "I-it d-d-didn't end well."

"You were former lovers," I shrugged, "and you left her after you called her a murderous and tyrannical bitch."

She started like she'd been slapped, but did not deny it.

"She… she knows how to press my buttons," she answered slowly, fists clenching. "I _will. Not. Let_. Her. Control me… again."

"Good," I said. "But she does control the rest of this station. You have to go into Afterlife and convince her that the Talons, and more specifically, _you_ , are not a threat to that control. Otherwise, this whole thing falls apart before it even begins. And those people you care so much about will be under the boot heels of Aria's thugs."

Nyreen nodded, and then turned to go. She paused in the doorway, looking over her shoulder.

"Let me… um…. Please send me updates on Garrus' condition?" she asked. "He's a… a…. I'd hate to lose _another_ soldier today."

I nodded, and the door closed behind her.

"Pretty thing," Morinth said, grinning. "Aria's gonna eat her _alive_ , though. Whether that means in the torture chamber or bedroom, is anybody's guess. Or maybe both?"

"Everything went off as well as could be expected," I continued, "What about…"

"The Patriarch? He's on board," Morinth confirmed. "Poor guy: wants so badly to relive his glory days."

"Keep up the relationship with him," I said. "It could come in handy one day."

"I'll be sure to tell Morl that," Morinth answered.

"Morl?" I asked, thinking for a moment. "The Eclipse commander on Lorek?"

Morinth's eyebrows raised, "And a gold star for the _Seneschal_! Until two months ago, that's true. He got transferred to my command after Jaroth… went to go live by the ocean… He's hopelessly in love with me by now, of course, but that just means he'll be easy to control. He'll follow my orders while I'm gone."

"Gone? Where are you going?" I asked, not liking where this was going.

"Why, with you, silly," Morinth said.

"Morinth, I'm –"

"Going to battle the Collectors, a mythical force of evil with unimaginable powers, on a suicide mission to the far edges of the galaxy, yes I know," Morinth said. "Which means you'll need the best with you. I am one of the few people in this galaxy who could probably match you for biotics. I am the best swordfighter and gunslinger in the Terminus Systems. I am a _damn_ good pilot, and a damn good lay, but we'll revisit that later…"

She leaned on the desk, earnestness in her eyes.

"You _need_ me, Ko'le."

I closed my eyes and inhaled slowly.

"Your _mother_ is on the short list of the recruits of this mission," I said, bringing up the dossier on Samara. "I couldn't bear it if… I don't want anything to happen to you."

A bright smile washed away the worry that had been on her face. "Aww, he _does care_ ," she said sweetly. "And as for my mother, that won't be a problem, as long as we don't meet _before_ she joins the team."

"Why is _that_?" I asked incredulously.

"The Code," she answered simply. "It does allow for the Justicar to work with criminals and even 'forces of evil' to order to defeat a greater evil. I think the Collectors here qualify as the 'greater evil.' Plus, if I know my mother, she'll swear herself to Shepard's service, and obey her orders without question. As long as Shepard doesn't want me dead, I'll be alright."

"Until the mission is over," I said slowly, "Then you'll be the 'greater evil.'"

Morinth shrugged, but I could see the worry in her eyes. "We'll burn that bridge when we come to it, lover."

I bristled at the title, but eventually I nodded.

"You're sure it won't comprise your work here?"

"Not at all," she said, "On paper, it will say the great Imperator of the Conclave put forward a black-book contract to the Eclipse, and I have decided to take it up personally, leaving Morl in command until I return. He's a good-natured sort, not particularly cruel. And, like I said, he's madly in love with me."

I smiled mirthlessly, and nodded.

"We'll be recruiting Mordin Solus and then getting off this rock," I said simply. "Have your gear on the _Indomitable_ by the time we move out."

Morinth squealed in delight and suddenly grabbed both of my cheeks in her hands, planting a quick kiss on my lips. I pushed her back.

"OK, OK, enough of that! Get out of here, you horny fish-wife," I said, half-in-earnest, half-in-jest. "We've got a suicide mission to get to."

"Yooooouu liiiiiiked iiiiiit," Morinth said, laughing as she walked out the door.

I followed soon after, leaving the _Indomitable_ and walking across the dock-yard towards the _Normandy_ 's berth. Two crewmen were on guard at the end of the gangplank. They went wide-eyed in recognition and snapped salutes as I walked past, to which I replied in kind.

Coming on board, the _Normandy_ was a hive of activity. I saw Miranda looking over a crewman's shoulder, carefully going over a schematic of a section of Omega Station. Joker and Donnelly were discussing something near the pilot's chair, something about how much stress the compression coils were _designed_ to withstand vs. how much they actually _could_ withstand.

"Hey, Dad."

EDI was at my shoulder, her golden projected avatar wearing a Con-Sec uniform.

"I like the new look," I said warmly. "Very sharp, EDI."

"Thanks," she smiled, "It's easy to go shopping when shopping just consists of writing your own code. Not nearly as difficult as, say, re-writing your morality constraints."

There was a moment of silence.

"Joke?" I asked.

"Joke," she confirmed, trying not to laugh.

"How's the ship?" I asked.

"Since Miss Lawson and the Commander have taken command, ship efficiency as increased by 3.7%. Crew morale by nearly 43%."

"A little hero worship goes a long way," I observed approvingly. "Where is the Commander?"

"Outside the Med-Bay, still waiting for word on Mr. Vakarian. He is still in surgery with Dr. Chakwas and her assistants."

I pursed my lips together.

 _Come on Garrus. Pull through, my friend. You're sorely needed now._

"And how have you been, EDI?" I asked, motioning towards the elevator. EDI followed me in.

"The Commander has been very… wary, but I believe that as I prove my value onboard, she will warm to the idea of having an A.I. helping to run the ship."

"Well, this will take time, but I have faith," I said, pressing the button for the Crew Level.

'In me, or in Shepard?"

The door opened and I stepped out, looking back over my shoulder.

"Both."

EDI smiled in reply. "I'm due at Engineering, but I'll talk to you later?"

"I'll hold you to that."

The door closed, and I turned back to survey the scene in front of me. Mess Sergeant Gardner was washing dishes in the kitchen area, and a few crewmen were sitting quietly, eating. I looked at the other table and saw a lone figure slumped down on the table, her head in her arms.

 _Ahh. Don't want to wake their commander. Admirable._

I walked over, extending a hand to stop some of the most observant of the crew from jumping up to attention. I placed a finger on my lips, returning the wave Rupert was giving me from behind the counter.

 _I wonder if Shepard has gotten the quality ingredients yet… or if he's even asked for them yet…._

"Shepard?" I asked, lightly placing a hand on her shoulder. "Shepard?"

She jerked back awake, breathing in through her nose. Then her eyes shot open.

"Garrus?" was the first question out of her mouth.

I nodded reassuringly. "Still in surgery. Come'on, let's get you off the table, yeah?"

"No," Shepard said groggily, even as I placed one of her arms over my shoulder and helped her to her feet. "Needta be here…"

"Chakwas can hit a button on the intercom just as easily as the next crewman," I said, leading her towards the elevator. "Whereas you will be utterly useless if you fall asleep on your feet."

On the elevator ride up to the Captain's Cabin, Shepard laid her head over on my shoulder, sleep not far away from her.

"We gonna have that talk now?" she asked.

"You should get some sleep first," I said. "We'll talk when –"

"When things aren't so crazy?" Shepard said, straightening up. "And when will that be? And I think I've enough sleep for a while, thanks."

She pulled her arm away from me, staring straight ahead.

"I've woken up to a world I barely recognize. They tell I was asleep for nearly two years, but to me, it seems like only yesterday I was on the _Normandy_. The old _Normandy._ My _Normandy_ , dammit!"

A fist launched forward, leaving the slightest of dents in the door in front of us. Shepard choked back a sob, looking down at her hand.

"And now here I am, on a new ship, in a new body, with a new crew, and the _one person_ who I thought would make… make this better just got _blown the fuck up_ , and now might die, all because I couldn't get there quick enough…and I'm just… I'm just so LOST, Ko'le! I'm just so _lost_ …"

She placed her head in her hands, her shoulders trembling with emotion. I stood there, not quite knowing what to do. The Lioness of Elysium was crying… what the hell was I supposed to do?

 _Hug her?_

 _Hand on shoulder?_

 _Or maybe stoic silence as she regains her composure?_

 _DAMN IT, what to say?_

The doors opened, revealing the short hallway to the Captain's cabin.

"Come on, Shepard," I said, reaching out a hand to place on her shoulder. "I owe you a talk…"

She sniffed, wiping her eyes hurriedly, then followed me out of the elevator.

The cabin was… exactly as it was in the games. I had made sure of that. Right down to the fish-tank. And the…

"I don't remember _this guy_ on the ship's schematics?" I asked, looking down at the little hamster running on the exercise wheel.

"Oh," Shepard said, a smile breaking over her worn-out expression. "That's Yardstick. He was… in the lab on Lazarus Station. In the couple days after I woke up, we kinda….connected. So apparently Miranda thought to surprise me with him in my cabin."

"Why the hell would you pick 'Yardstick' as a name?" I asked, almost incredulously.

"Oh, he only has three feet," Shepard said, pointing. I looked back and, sure enough, the little rodent's front left limb ended in a stump. I smiled at the pun, then turned back to Shepard, who was sitting on the couch down on the main level.

"You no doubt have questions," I said. It was more of a statement of fact, rather than a question.

"I've been asking a lot of them ever since I woke up," Shepard said, holding her hands out, palms-up. "And everyone responds the same way…"

"Let me guess: The _Imperator_ will explain everything?"

"Got it in one."

" _Bastards_ ," I said in mock anger. Shepard and I shared a tired chuckle, then I looked back up.

"Fire away, Commander. Nothing held back, no holds barred. You ask, and I will answer with the absolute truth, if I know the answer."

Then we both took a deep breath that basically said the same thing:

 _Here we go._

"Why did you bring me back?" Shepard asked. "You could have built a fleet of dreadnaughts for the cost poured into the Lazarus Project."

"Because I would not have had anyone to _lead_ those dreadnaughts," I answered simply. "Ships can be replaced, new crews procured and trained. There is only one Human Spectre."

"You seem to have done a great job of leading this Conclave by yourself…"

"But not the Council or the Alliance," I corrected. "To them, I'll always be the mummy who crawled out the Pyramid and is now trying to reestablish the Egypt of the Pharaohs. The ones who do not think I am completely mad or insane view me as outdated and archaic. This is not my world to lead, Shepard. It's yours. You saw what happened with the crew: Tali is the only one with me, and that's because her people joined the Conclave. Everyone else," I shrugged, "scattered to the four winds. Without the Shepard to lead them, the flock scatters…"

Shepard seemed to think on that answer for a bit, then nodded slowly.

"You and Ash still together?"

"Off and on," I said, shrugging. "It's difficult, me trying to lead the Conclave and her trying to climb the military ladder. So… yes, but infrequently?"

Shepard smiled, then turned serious again.

"Liara?"

"After I helped her take down the Shadow Broker," I said, "I haven't heard from her directly. That was nearly a year ago, now."

"Wait…what?"

* * *

*** **SOME TIME LATER*****

Shepard rubbed her forehead, trying to take it in everything Ko'le was telling her.

 _Liara is the Shadow Broker. Sweet, kind, gentle Liara was now the largest crimelord and mob boss in the galaxy…_

 _Wrex was a krogan warlord on Tuchanka, seeking a cure for the genophage and the unification of his people._

 _Ashley was a Lieutenant now…_

 _The Illusive Man is dead._

 _Ko'le is now the head of Cerberus, which has been formally reorganized into a military arm of the Conclave, with Oleg Petrovsky, her old commanding officer, taking a leading role in the new organization._

 _The quarians have Ilos as a homeworld now._

 _Turro'le, the giant bird-man, was a Raloi, a newly-discovered galactic race._

 _Speaking of which, Ko'le had found_ _more_ _Protheans on Eden Prime, of all places._

 _And managed to get an entire faction of the geth to switch sides._

"And… Tali's dad wanted to kill you because of what you'd done for the geth?"

"And for what he felt was the misleading of the quarian people, yes," Ko'le answered, pouring her another shot of whiskey. They had switched from coffee to alcohol about the time Ko'le started telling her about the Rachni saving her mom on Haestrom. "Well, not kill me, per se, just trade me to the Collectors for technology."

"And you had to kill him?"

"Tali actually shot him saving me," Ko'le said, his eyes glazing over in memories in that way he always did when he was remembering past events.

"Oh my god!" Shepard started, "Is she ok? How did she…handle that?"

"Badly," Ko'le said, looking down at the floor now. "Still in the various stages of grief."

"And you didn't tell her anything about me?" Shepard asked. "Or Anderson, Hackett, the Alliance? Or my _mom,_ for God's sake?"

"Shepard," Ko'le said, looking intently at her. "What we were attempting was experimental of the first order. I had no concrete _proof_ that it was going to work. Or how successful it was _going_ to be. What was I supposed to say if it turned out that we lost you, somewhere along the year and a half-long process to reconstruct you? Let them grieve you all over again? Let them suffer more?"

"Now _I_ have to be the one to say, 'Surprise, I'm back, bitches?'"

Ko'le chuckled, "I'd try to be a mite more diplomatic than that, but if you want, yeah."

He looked horribly uncomfortable all of the sudden, the look Shepard had only seen on the faces of people who _really_ didn't what to say…whatever it was that they were going to say next.

"What?" Shepard asked, "You've looked like you've been trying to avoid a subject for a while, now. Spit it out: What is it?"

"I wasn't the only one to try and bring you back," Ko'le said slowly.

"Someone else tried to steal my body?" Shepard asked.

"Not exactly… no."

"Dammit, Ko'le, I'm not in the mood for a _fucking guessing game_ , what?"

"They cloned you."

 _The FUCK?_

"Come again?" She asked after a long silence.

"A hair, fingernail clipping, maybe a skin or a blood sample, I don't know how," Ko'le said hurriedly. "But they…"

"Who's 'they'?"

"A rogue faction of Cerberus. I swear, Shepard, I had _nothing to do with it_."

"So what the hell happened?"

Ko'le shrugged. "They had some kind of half-assed, convoluted plan to say that you were a prisoner of the geth, and they had rescued you. But I found them before they had the chance to even awaken the clone, much less brainwash her into thinking she was you."

"So, wait, you've got a clone of me _on ice_ somewhere?" Shepard was reeling from all this. Or maybe it was the tequila.

"Not exactly…"

"KO'LE…."

"She's a member of my crew, serving on the _Indomitable."_

Another very pregnant silence.

"And all this time…and you didn't think to tell me sooner!?"

Ko'le held his hands up in surrender. "When? If you remember, I wasn't exactly in a talkative mood when we first met! I figured that this was not the sort of thing you send a Holo-Net message about. And on Omega, the first priority was saving Garrus. _This_ is the first time we've had even remotely to ourselves, and so, this is when I'm telling you."

Rebecca reached over to the tequila and took a long pull directly from the bottle.

"So…what does she know…about me?" she finally asked.

"Shepard, you're… _the_ Shepard. She knows the same about you that everyone else in the galaxy does. Your deeds, your accomplishments, your military record… But she is _her own person_. Her own distinct personality, her likes, dislikes, all that. She just happens to look like you, that's all. She has _not_ contacted the Alliance, Council, or your family. She felt like that would be too confusing at this time. That said… she would like to meet _you_ , if you're willing."

 _Meet my clone_ , Shepard thought. _How many people get this kind of opportunity in their lives? But… what if she hates me? Or resents me because of how she came into this world? What if…_

"Shepard?" Ko'le was saying, leaning forward now. "Say something, please…"

"I…don't know if I'd like that as well," Shepard said slowly. "It's…a lot to take in…"

"Of course," Ko'le said gently. "Take your time…"

Shepard bowed her head, her eyes suddenly _so heavy_.

"I'm sorry, by the way," she said.

Ko'le looked confused. "For _what?"_

"I had no idea what you were going through we found you on Therum: to fall asleep and wake up to a completely different world. To a completely different new life. Now I do… and I'm so sorry."

Ko'le was suddenly next to her, bending down to look in her eyes.

"Shepard…first of all, apology _not fucking accepted_. You were gone _for not even_ two years. I was gone for fifty _millennia_. Your world is slightly changed. Mine is _dead and gone_ , minus a few dozen survivors. Second of all, you're not in a different world: Your friends and family are still alive. True, you've missed some stuff, but nothing that can't be fixed by diving back in there. There's going to an awkward, 'Back from the Dead' phase, but I know you can do it. And I'm here to help."

"You've already done quite a bit of that already," Shepard said, smiling mirthlessly. "Chakwas said most of the tech inside me is a copy of your own."

Ko'le shrugged, "My implants were already tailored to repair and maintain human DNA. Well, _Neanderthalensis_ DNA. It was a comparatively easy thing to modify it for your _Homo sapiens sapiens_ DNA. And we were able to do it without Robbidir's trial and error method…"

Pain crossed his face at the memories. Shepard felt a pang of regret for him, but before she could say anything, Ko'le held up his hand.

"If my suffering could be used to _save_ a life, instead of just _taking_ it, I leapt at the chance. You owe me nothing, Shepard. If not for you, I would have most likely died on Therum. If anything, we're even now."

Shepard grinned, and started to say something, but then the door chimed. She and Ko'le turned towards the sound.

"Come in," she called, and was _not_ prepared for the face on the other side of the door.

"GARRUS!"

"Shepard."

The turian limped stiffly into the room, one hand pressed to his side, but back in a full suit of turian armor.

" _Tough son of a bitch_ ," Ko'le said under his breath, almost like he was quoting something. Shepard raised an eyebrow, but let it go.

"Nobody will give me a mirror," Garrus said, entering the room, "How bad is it?"

Shepard smiled, "Well, hell, Garrus, you were always ugly. Slap some more face-paint on it, and nobody will know the difference."

Garrus chuckled, but then grimaced. "Hehe – OH, don't make me laugh. It hurts too much."

Ko'le looked at Shepard, and nodded, "I'll leave you two alone. Shepard, I'll look into what I can find on Mordin Solus. Let me know when you want to go meet him. But first, you getsome rest."

Shepard nodded wordlessly, watching him clasping arms with Garrus on the way out. The turian mumbled something to the Neanderthal, who only nodded and put a gentle hand on his shoulder before leaving the room. The door closed, and Garrus turned to her.

"So… back from the dead. Impressive, even by your standards, Shepard."

"Ko'le seems to have pulled it off rather well," she answered.

"And you managed to get a bigger and better _Normandy_ while you were at it," Garrus said, looking around. "Nobody likes a show-off, Shepard…"

Now it was Shepard's turn to chuckle.

"I've missed you, Garrus..."

A look she'd never seen from Garrus crossed his newly-scarred face. _Still feeling pain from the surgery, probably_.

"Me too, Becca…"

Then suddenly he shook his head, clearing his throat.

"Well, Chakwas has filled me in a little on the situation. We're going after the Collectors?"

"Nobody else will, it seems," Shepard said.

"That's bureaucrats for you," Garrus said angrily. "All too-ready to sweep problems under a rug and hope nobody trips over it."

His voice lowered as he got nearer.

"Frankly, I'm more worried about _you_ , Shepard. I've heard some… disturbing things about Ko'le and his little Neo-Cerberus."

"I think we can trust Ko'le," Shepard said. "He's been to hell and back with us before. At the very least, his heart's in the right place. But I need more of _my_ people around me, Garrus. If I'm walking into Hell, I want at least _somebody_ to have my back. I know you have commitments here -"

Garrus shook his head, not letting her finish that sentence

"Nyreen and the remainder of my team have everything under control here, with the Talons. Plus, I was feeling… unsure about joining forces with a gang, or even a former gang. Now that I suddenly learn that Nyreen had an alliance with Eclipse the whole time…"

Garrus clicked his jaw several times in a gesture Shepard knew to be frustration. Then he turned back to her.

"I'm here, Rebecca. Reporting for duty. I'll be heading down to the main deck. Gonna have to give this…new _Normandy_ a good once or twice-over. But… I'm here, if you need me."

Shepard nodded, and watched the proud turian turn slowly and limp out of the room. She knew better than to offer to help, or to call an orderly for assistance. That was Garrus all over. As soon as the door closed, she felt like a huge weight was lifted from her shoulders. And another was placed on her heart. She wanted to lie down; to close her eyes and sleep for a year. But she knew there was something she had to do first.

And she would have welcomed the choice to take on a Thresher Maw with her bare hands right now, but this had to be done…

She walked over to the desk, and dialed a number.

" **How can I help, Shepard?"** EDI's face appeared on the holo-projector.

"Patch me through to Alliance Command, EDI. Admiral Anderson's direct line, if you can."

" **Of course, Commander. Anyone else you'd like to contact?"**

"Yes… The SSV _Orizaba._ Captain Hannah Shepard…"

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

 **Just a short chapter here, you guys, before we set off for the recruitment mission for everyone's favorite 'hamster-on-coffee.' No, nobody got punched, but this was the conversation that had to happen. And no, not everything was told… exactly how that will play into the future, only time will tell. I certainly won't. Not yet. :) Hope I did the conversation justice by you guys, and please let me know what you'd like to see in the future.**

 **Sorry I don't have time to do my regular individual responses, so I'll just cover the main theme of most of the reviews:**

 **Yes, Morinth does seem to be falling for the Seneschal, and falling hard. It will be interesting how Ashley is going to take that…or Samara. |  
As for everyone else: Thanks for your awesome comments and reviews, and PMs. Like I've always said, they are the things that drive this story forward. **

Rock on, my friends!

May the Father below accept you when your times comes, and until then, may the Mother keep you always.

EE-RAH!


	5. Chapter 5: Dossier: The Professor

***THE CITADEL*  
WIDOW RELAY  
SERPENT NEBULA**

 _Somebody was fucking with him_.

That was the only explanation. And whoever they were, David Anderson was determined to make life absolute _hell_ for them by the time he was done with them. No, strike that: they could _vacation_ in Hell after he was done with them.

Rebecca Shepard had been the best damn soldier under his command, in his entire military career. He would never admit this to anyone, ever, but he had thought of the girl as the daughter he had never had.

And it had torn him apart when she hadn't come back from her little "geth-hunting" expedition. From the mission _he'd_ sent her on…

He had fallen off the wagon… after 15 _years sober_ , the night he'd gotten the news.

Hackett had wanted to be the one to tell Hannah, but he'd told Steve to go fuck himself: Shepard had been under _his_ command, so he'd damn well face the music. But to tell one of his oldest friends, the wife of his best friend, that her little girl was not coming home… had been the worst day of his life. BAR NONE.

And now… someone was telling him that _Commander_ Shepard was on Line 4, waiting for him to accept the call. He stared at the little blinking light, summoning up what he estimated was the correct amount of moral outrage for whatever _motherfucker_ had decided to use the death of truly the best person in the galaxy just to jerk his chain. He reached forward and pressed the "Accept" button. '

And promptly sat down hard, staring at the face that was in front of him.

"The hell...?" he stammered.

"That was my reaction at first, too, Admiral," Rebecca Shepard said. "Believe me, this is not any easier for me to accept, either."

"Shepard…I…I…" he stammered

"Don't know if it's really me? I wouldn't either, if someone I thought was dead called me out of the blue," she said, half joking, but he could see the tears in the corner of her eyes. She took a deep breath.

"OK, so, you remember the night we stole the _Normandy_ from the Citadel? You said something to me that night, right before Ko'le called to give us the all-clear. You remember?"

Anderson nodded wordlessly, still not believing his eyes.

"You said a good soldier knows not only how to follow orders, but also what orders to disobey. You said that is what set good soldiers apart from great ones. You said that a soldier's life is not measured in the lives you took -"

" _But in the lives you save,"_ Anderson whispered with her, the impossible settling into his brain:

 _It's really her…_

"How?" he asked finally. "You _died…"_

"It's a long story, sir…"

* * *

 ***THE UNDERCITY DISTRICT*  
OMEGA STATION**

"So why are we down _here_ and not up _there_ meeting the nice salarian doctor with Shepard and the rest of them?" Morinth groaned, stooping low to crawl out of the ventilation shaft we were currently exiting.

"Orders, Major D'len, that jolly well why," Pyke said, "And a bit of bally exercise is good for the old digestion, eh?"

"Permission to shoot the cheerful vorcha, Seneschal?"

"Permission denied," I said, smiling. "Everyone has said that the vorcha were abandoning their mercenary bands and their normal routines, heading down into the lowest levels of the station and taking control. Aria's efforts to dislodge them have proven costly and ineffective."

"Someone's organizing them, sah," Pyke suggested. "Read over the reports of the last… expedition Aria sent down here: dem fine ambush. Textbook L-shape crossfire. The 1st Heshtok couldn't do better."

"That's what I'm afraid of, Master Sergeant," I replied. "That's what we're down here to find out."

"Oh, excellent," Morinth exclaimed, rolling her eyes. "We can all be eaten _alive_ while trying to find out why a horde of cannibals suddenly grew brains instead of eating them…"

"Ignoring the utter _racism_ in that remark, madam…" Pyke suddenly grew quiet when I raised a fist in alarm. Following my quick and silent hand motions, my team fanned out, each of them readying weapons at the same time. Morinth and I made eye contact, my fingers signing in asari sign language.

 _Five hostiles ahead. More?_

Morinth slowly peered out from cover, taking a look for herself, then signing back to me.

 _No more. Multiple bodies in street. Looting._

 _I, far left,_ I signed back. _You, second to left._

I assigned targets to each of our comrades and then suddenly I motioned them to go, and each of us fired, once. Five vorcha fell, shot through the head.

"Good shots, everyone," I said over the radio. I approached the bodies, feeling a sinking feeling in my gut. Besides the vorcha, there were a number of turians and salarians on the ground as well. But they hadn't been killed by gunshots or blades. The bodies were bloated, and black stains pooled around their mouths.

"These were no casualties of war, _Imperator_ ," Tallaxis said, sinking down to get a closer look.

"Everyone double-check your atmo-filters in your helmets," I said.

"Like we didn't do that _before_ coming down here?" Reyna said sourly.

"Don't backtalk a superior h'officer, girl," Pyke said sharply, "Just do it."

"Ko'le to Shepard: You there, Shepard?" I asked, activating my Omni-Tool.

"Go ahead, Ko'le," Shepard said. "We've just made contact with the Professor."

"Just found something I think he might be interested in," I said, scanning one of the diseased bodies and relaying it to Shepard. "The vorcha that are down here?" They were pumping something into one of the water mains. If I had to guess, it's what killed these poor sods as well."

"Water mains? What does he mean…?" Reyna started, but Morinth nudged her arm and pointed. A manhole cover was ajar on the floor, and one of the vorcha held an empty canister of… something.

" **Voidwalker, Solus here. Good to meet you, as it were. Heard many things,"** a very familiar salarian voice came over the radio. **"Some good. Some bad. To be expected when dealing with galactic politics."**

"Good to meet you too, Professor," I answered. "I wish it were under better circumstances, though."

" **Wishful thinking. If wanted better circumstances, would've returned to Sur'Kesh. Boring there. No action. No challenge. No, came to Omega. Can't expect better circumstances."**

"What's your take on the bodies?" I asked, cutting him off. "I'm thinking of a word that sounds very much like 'Plague.'"

" **Disease apparently targeting the upper respiratory system, infecting and shutting down lung tissue. Hmm, have had similar cases come in recently. Mystery as to cause until now. Hmm, recommend atmospheric seals on helmets and armor, post haste."**

"Already done," I said. "Sending you a scan of the canister they were pouring into the water source."

" **Hmm… problematic. Definitely artificially synthesized. Need to run tests before conclusions can be drawn. Yes, more tests. Need data."**

"Shepard," I said, "Given this station's… unhygienic nature, along with the crowded population, if a plague was unleashed into the water or air levels…"

"This whole station would be dead in a matter of weeks," Shepard confirmed. "We're on our way down there. Where would they be holed up, do you think?"

I looked over at Morrell. "Pyke, if you had to assemble a clan on a station like this, where would _you_ go?

Pyke grew thoughtful.

"Twon't be just warriors," he mused. "They'll be pups, and _lahini_ s, the birth-mothers, with them as well. They'll need a wide open central space for the clan gatherings, but also with smaller alcoves for the families."

" **I think I might have a location that fits your bill, Ko'le,"** Garrus voice was the one on the radio now.

"Shoot."

"There's an older part of the station called the Catacombs, structurally unsound and generally abandoned. It's right underneath… _oh spirits_ …. It's right underneath the damn oxygen processors for the entire lower part of the station."

" **Aerosol version of pathogen easy to synthesize, Shepard,"** Mordin chimed in. **"Suggest securing those ventilation stations as quickly as possible."**

" **Right, all hands on deck for this one,"** Shepard said, **"Garrus: get Miranda and meet us at the ventilation control center**. **Ko'le – "**

"We're on it," I stated, breaking my group into a light jog. I opened a secondary channel to the _Indomitable_ :

" **Brother?"**

"Javik," I said hurriedly, "Arm Turro and Jane, and meet us at these coordinates on the station. We've got trouble: the 'everyone on this station could die' kind of trouble. Have Krios coordinate communications from the ship."

" **Understood,** _ **Seneschal**_ **."**

 _The joys of the Prothean command system,_ I thought wistfully. _No questions, second-guesses, or complaining. Sorry to bring Jane into this, Shepard, but we need all hands on deck for this one…_

I had thought we might have to fight our way up the street. I had envisioned house-to-house fighting, block-by-block warfare.

I would have much preferred that to the stony silence that greeted us.

I would have much preferred that to the stench of rotting flesh and the steady _**buzzzzz**_ of engorged blow-flies as they feasted on bloated and disfigured bodies: turians, salarians, batarians, and yes, the odd krogan every now and then, and asari.

Any question as to the fates of the _human_ occupants of the Undercity were answered when we passed the first half-eaten corpse. I could _sense_ Reyna was struggling, but we had to press on. I wished this was the worst thing I had witnessed. But it paled in comparison with the horrors Javik and I had seen in the Reaper War.

 _Morag… the Densorins…_

 _All those writhing corpses dumped on the radiation fields of the moon of Embra…. Father, have mercy._

Shaking myself back to the present, I focused on the task at hand.

"HIGH RIGHT!" came the call from Morinth, and suddenly, all hell broke loose. Vorcha appeared in the balconies above us, sniper rifles trained and firing.

"Tallaxis, UP!" I yelled. The hanar nodded, and engaged his jet-packs, taking him to the upper levels in a heartbeat. The loud _**whoosh**_ and the high pitch screeches told us that his flamethrower had now joined the fight, and the sniper fire ceased altogether. However, with a loud crash, a group of them came out of a side building onto the main street.

"BASTARDS!" came a half-strangled cry on my right. Glancing that direction, I saw a slender, crimsoned-armored figure moving in a deliberate fashion up the street, firing her rifle.

"REYNA! TAKE COVER, NOW!" I yelled, but my words fell on deaf ears. Biting back a curse, I charged my biotics and threw a Pull field, catching her in-between the shoulder blades. I heard _one, two¸_ and then _three_ shots ping off of her barriers before I reached her. Striding forward, I caught her leg and, with a monumental effort, _yanked_ her back down behind a parked skycar.

"You're going to get yourself _killed_ , girl!" I said in exasperation. Then I grabbed her shoulder, looking in her eyes.

 _Yes… there is rage there. Unbridled passion. But unharnessed and dangerous to everyone around her._

"STAY. BEHIND. ME." I said in a tone of voice that brooked no argument. "Now, cover fire!"

We moved forward down the street, popping off any vorcha who dared to show their face. I was recognizing the area we were in now…from…from…

 _From the game. We're nearing the ventilation control center_.

Up ahead, we heard gunfire and the sound of snarling and snapping teeth. Breaking into a run, we rounded the corner to see three human figures in a tooth-and-nail fight with a horde of vorcha. Shepard had her bayonet engaged, using a skewered vorcha as a temporary human shield as she opened fire on the rest. Zaeed was on his hands and knees, pulling a bowie knife out of a vorcha's eye socket. Jacob had an Omni-Blade engaged, slashing the hamstrings of the vorcha closest to him, and following it up with his throat.

I brought up my rifle, catching a vorcha through the head.

"Ee-RAH!" I cried, and my squad surged forward. I folded my rifle backward, unsheathing my sword at the same time. Engaging my Omni-shield, I took the first vorcha at a dead run, flipping him bodily over me, leaving him for one of my companions behind. Another vorcha tried tackling me, but only got a face full of shield, and then a bellyful of blade.

"BLOOD AND VINEGAR!" Pyke Morrell was yelling, slashing wildly left and right. " _Sari ekra kitchu!"_

We carved a bloody swath through the swarm of vorcha until we rejoined Shepard and the rest.

"Why don't we ever go to _nice_ places, Shepard?" I asked, as the vorcha fell back to regroup, giving us a momentary respite.

She didn't even take the bait. She checked the heat sink on her weapon, then strode forward.

"Come on," she said, "We've got to get to that…."

 _Eight_ vorcha stuck their heads up on the roof opposite us, wielding long cylindrical weapons.

"ROCKETS!" yelled Jacob. "Take COVER!"

Eight rockets fired simultaneously, their rocket-streams speeding in our general direction. Everyone threw themselves down to the ground as everything around went to shit in a hurry. The skycar that Shepard and Zaeed had taken cover behind took a direct hit. Fortunately, there was nothing left in the burned-out car to explode, but it did send both humans flying backwards. Our return fire had already taken out two of the rocket-troopers, but the other six were aiming the next salvo.

"YARA! TALLAXIS!" I yelled walking forward and sending up a biotic barrier. The asari and the hanar took their places on either side of me, adding their combined abilities to shore up the barrier. Jacob stood and pitched in his considerable biotic abilities as well. The rockets detonated, with multiple _**pongs**_ echoing against the wall of dark energy. I began to brace myself for the next salvo, but then could see… _something_ happening on roof. Unfortunately, as helpful as biotic barriers are, they to tend to warp and distort one's vision. I dropped my hand, my comrades following suite, just in time to see an armored figure flip a vorcha over the edge, his screeching cut short by the _**plop**_ of his head hitting the concrete.

"MOVE YOUR ASSES!" Jane called down to us. Shepard, who had been slowly picking herself off the ground, looked up with a startled gasp. Javik and Turro joined Jane at the edge of the roof, picking off vorcha who were beginning another charge at our position.

"Shoulder to Shoulder!" I called out, "Pick your targets and concentrate your fire!"

I threw up another barrier, with everyone lined up alongside me. Almost immediately, bullets began ricocheting off the glowing green bubble.

"ADVANCE!" I called, slowly walking forward, smiling to myself.

 _Remember this, Shepard. We're gonna need to do it again on the Collector's station._

Most of the vorcha were cowed by the impressive display, and they began running back up the street or disappearing back into alleyways and sewers. The more valiant among the enemy charged the barrier, but as soon as they crossed the slowly-advancing green field, they were the target of the combined firepower of seven well-armed troops. Javik, Jane, and Turro fast-roped down the side of the building, joining us as we passed them. Soon, we were advancing _into_ the ventilation control center, where I dropped the field with an exhausted gasp.

"That was… impressive," Shepard said, looking at me.

"Advancing Tide," Javik said appreciatively. "I haven't seen that maneuver since… since…"

"Pelagius," I finished for him, to end the confusion that was appearing on his face. "That wave of Brutes was stampeding towards us."

"Yes… Pelagius…" Javik remembered thoughtfully.

" **Shepard,"** EDI's voice came over the radio, **"I've scanned the structure. The main controls should be on the other side of the building: above the main courtyard, center of the back wall."**

"Of course it is," Shepard sighed, then re-checked her rifle. "Alright, let's go."

However, as soon as the door opened, we paused at the sight. The courtyard was FULL of vorcha, standing in orderly ranks, as opposed to the rabble we'd had to fight through to get here. At the front of the formation was one vorcha in, I swear to God, a _robe_ that looked like it was straight out of a Dr. Strange cosplay.

"YOU NO COME HERE!" he screeched, pointing a finger at us.

 _Now this seems familiar._

"WE feed Death into fans! Everyone choke and die!" the shaman/chieftain continued, to the growling delight of the vorcha behind him. "THEN COLLECTORS MAKE US STRONG!"

 _Oh, shit._ _No signs of any augments or husks, though._

"Why? What do the Collectors want?" Shepard asked, rifle raised.

"PLAGUE!" the shaman screeched. "When all dead, vorcha will be strong! No more we be weapons for Kro-GAN! YOU would cure! We kill you first!"

"SHtA-KU!" Pyke yelled, stepping forward. The howls that had begun at the shaman's threat suddenly grew quiet.

"Collectors NO make vorcha strong!" Pyke said, slipping from his usual impeccable Basic back into the high-pitched sing-song intonations that were the usual speech of his people. "Collectors make vorcha strong for Collectors! SAME AS KROGAN! If Collectors strong, why do the Vorcha fight instead of Collectors?"

A long silence answered his words. Apparently no one thought of that, before.

"Weapons for krogan, weapons for Collectors, all same!" Pyke called, now pacing back and forth. "NO NEED for ANYONE make vorcha strong! VORCHA MIGHTY ALREADY!"

There were some cheers and howls in agreement with his words. The shaman looked back and forth, a slight panic appearing in his face.

"YOU SLAVE TO OO-mans!" the shaman called. "YOUR WORDS LIES to the BOOM SQUAD!"

"BOOM SQUAD! BOOM SQUAD! BOOM SQUAD!" the vorcha cried, fists, guns, and blades raised.

"Boom Squad? _Seriously?"_ Reyna asked, whispering next to me.

"Not the most imaginative or poetic bunch, vorcha," I whispered back.

"I PYKE of Clan MAGDA-SEKAI!" Pyke called, rolling up his right sleeve to reveal the red tattoos traveling up his arm. "AND I MAKE CHALLENGE OF BOOM SQUAD CHIEF!"

The other arm was bared now, revealing a myriad of black tattoos traveling up his left arm.

" _SEVEN TENS_ of clan-kills I MAKE!" Pyke called out, "SEVEN TENS challenges won!"

An astonished murmur ran through the ranks of the Boom Squad facing us. The chieftain looked startled for a moment, but snarled in reply.

"I Shisk of BOOM SQUAD!" he called out. "I ACCEPT PYKE-CHALLENGE!"

A circle quickly was cleared, with the ten of us making our squad on one side, and the fifty or so Boom Squad clan members on the other. Pyke walked over to me, pulling both SMGs out and handing them to me.

"Hold on to these for me, sah?" he asked. "Shan't take but a minute."

"Of course, Sergeant Major," I answered, taking them from him.

"Pyke," Shepard said, "You don't have to do this for us…"

"Beggin' your pardon, Commander," Pyke said, somewhat in an offended tone, "but I taint doing this for you. Yes, we could fight our way through the bally lot of the buggers. Easier than blowing the 'ol hooter, ey, what? Rather save the rotters, if I can. As I said, shan't take but a minute."

Just then, the door opened, and Garrus and Miranda strode in, guns ready. They paused at the sight.

"OK… what'd we miss?" Garrus asked slowly.

"Vorcha blood-challenge, Vakarian," I answered, shrugging. "The Sergeant Major here is about to become chief of the Boom Squad Clan, apparently."

"Oh…" Garrus said, still not understanding in the least bit.

Pyke, now stripped the waist, strode out to the center of the circle. Shisk shed the cloak and did the same. Two rusty machetes were thrown into the circle in between the two challengers.

"KOOOM!" the clan members shouted, and both vorcha set off at a run for the blades in the center of the ring. I noted that whoever had thrown in the blades had made sure that the blades were _slightly_ closer to Shisk than they were to Pyke.

Shisk closed his hand over his blade first, his screech of triumph cut short by Pyke launching himself into a flying kick to his chest. Both vorcha rolled quickly to their feet, blades in hand.

Pyke was taller than Shisk, his darker complexion and longer limbs revealing that he had grown up on-world, or at least somewhere that got a lot of sun, and normal gravity. Shisk, on the other hand, was pale and pasty, his limbs still incredibly well-built, but stockier.

 _He's grown up in space, his body adapting to the low-gravity scenarios_ , I thought.

Shisk stepped in, attacking in short, rigid chopping motions. Pyke side-stepped, letting the blade _just_ miss his chin, then brought his blade _up_ , slashing a deep gash in the other vorcha's side.

"KICK HIS ASS!" Morinth called out, grinning from ear to ear. Javik and Turro similarly had appreciative smiles on their faces.

 _What a bloodthirsty bunch I've gathered_ , I thought, smiling myself. Suddenly there was a screech from the crowd. I looked back to see Pyke stumble backwards, clutching a stump where his right hand had been. The hand, still clutching the blade, fell to the floor in a clatter.

 _Oh, no…._

Reyna started to move forward, but Turro simply held out a wing in front of her.

"No," he said simply. "Wait."

Howling in victory, Shisk thrusted with his machete. It penetrated downward through Pyke's left side.

But the Sergeant Major of the 1st Heshtok Irregulars would not be undone so easily. Pyke reached up with his good left hand, seizing Shisk by the throat. A panicked expression coming on his face, Shisk tried to pull back, to deliver another blow. However, before he could free either himself or his weapon, Pyke, pulling himself _up_ the blade, buried his teeth deep in the neck of the Boom Squad's chief, black blood spurting along the floor. The chief of the Boom Squad let out one choked gurgle, and then collapsed in a heap, his throat torn open. There was silence across the whole room. Slowly and deliberately, Pyke reached down and pulled the weapon that was _in_ him with his one hand that remained.

"BOOM SQUAD!" he shouted.

"BOOM SQUAD! BOOM SQUAD!" Fifty vorcha took up the cry, pounding their chests and raising their weapons high. Stiffly, but still deliberately, Pyke turned back towards us. He raised the bloody machete at me.

"SENSCHAL! Take command…"

I went down to one knee, right hand clasped over my chest. Looking pointedly at my companions, they did the same, slowly.

"We obey the great chieftain of the Boom Squad!" I said loudly.

Pyke's eyes then rolled into the back of his head, and he fell backwards. I ran forwards, Medi-Gel at the ready.

"PYKE!"

" _Told ya_ twa'd only take a minute, eh, what?" Pkye murmured, then coughed up a mouthful of blood.

* * *

 ***SOME TIME LATER*  
GONZU DISTRICT**

"Well, the good news is, we stopped a rampaging horde of vorcha from releasing a Collector-engineered plague," Shepard said, walking out of Mordin Solus' clinic in the Gonzu district of the station.

"How's Morrell?" I asked, closing my Omni-Tool.

"I wouldn't think it, looking at him, but according to Mordin, he's going to be OK," Shepard said, shaking her head. "He's one tough bastard…"

"That he is," I said admiringly. "What of the good doctor? Is he with us?"

"He was impressed by our ability to, quote, 'utilize creative and unorthodox means to solve complex scenarios,'" Shepard said, smiling. "That, coupled with the virus that the Collectors gave the Boom Squad, and the data from New Singapore, and it was too good for him to pass up. He'll be reporting to the _Normandy_ by the beginning of the next cycle."

I mentally did the conversion from Omega time to standard time: _So, about six hours_.

"What news from your end?" Shepard said, sitting down.

"I informed Aria about the problem in the Undercity: namely, that it doesn't exist anymore," I said. "She's shut off the water mains leading from that area, and is establishing a quarantine of the lower levels, just in case."

"Good."

"Also arranged to take care of her vorcha problem."

Shepard arched an eyebrow at me questioningly.

"The _Virago_ will be on station in two days' time," I explained. "The entirety of the Boom Squad clan, all one thousand and eighty-three vorcha, will be loaded on the ship and taken to the Conclave colony on Flett, in the Malgus System. The rest of the 1st Heshtok Irregular's noncombatants are already stationed there, and from there, they'll be placed in vorcha units, under new vorcha commanders."

Shepard looked impressed. "You've done this before," she stated.

"A few times," I nodded. "Pyke will stay here with them, just until he gets back on his feet."

"You've got a good crew, Ko'le," Shepard said, then she grew quiet.

"Thank you," I replied simply.

"That was Jane, wasn't it?" Shepard asked quietly. "On the roof with Javik and…the bird-guy?"

"Turro," I corrected, then nodded. "And yes. Yes, it was."

"She was good."

"She _is_ good," I said, "and she's still waiting to meet you, if you're willing."

Shepard looked down at her boots for a moment, then got up with a sigh.

"I think I've put off enough things today..."

* * *

 ***CSV** _ **INDOMITABLE***_

Jane placed her armor back in her locker, having washed off the grime and blood from the Undercity off its polished surface. She had tried to just take it off and leave it for later, but she had gotten a stern lecture from Javik about _"_ proper weapon care" and "Take care of your armor, and it will take care of you." So clean and polish it she had, closing her locker door with a relieved sigh.

 _As annoying as Javik can be, it does feel good to have polished armor in your locker_ , she admitted, though she firmly vowed never to admit that to Javik.

"Hey."

She turned at the sound of the voice, then was taken aback at who it was.

 _Was that girly shriek from_ _me?_

"Ohmygodiwasjustleaving," she started, bending over to collect her things, but only succeeding in scattering them across the locker floor.

"Actually," Shepard said, stepping in the room, "Do you have a second?"

 _Oh my god oh my god oh my god_. The dreaded conversation that she'd replayed a _million_ times since she had first woken up in the _Normandy's_ sickbay was happening. And it was happening _now._

"Oh… ok," she said, brushing back a lock of hair from her face.

 _Stop looking so nervous, you…you…girl!_

"I…guess this is a bit awkward for both of us," Shepard said, and Jane could almost _swear_ her voice sounded nervous too.

"A bit, yeah," Jane admitted. "But I mean, what are we supposed to say? 'Hello, I'm your clone, I took your middle name, and know a bunch of stuff about your life because somebody wanted it to be mine?'"

Rebecca shrugged, "That's not a bad start." The two shared a smile for a moment, then Rebecca cleared her throat and held out her hand.

"I'm Rebecca."

Jane looked down at her hand, then back up at Rebecca, and then, almost gingerly, took the offered hand.

"Jane."

Rebecca smiled.

"You know, I never liked that name," she said, "Growing up, I mean," she added quickly when she saw the consternation on Jane's face. "But…it makes sense. I mean, I guess."

Another awkward silence.

"So, what's the first thing you remember?" Rebecca asked.

"Waking up in the _Normandy's_ Sickbay, surrounded by people I knew, but did not recognize."

"Oh, god," Rebecca replied. "So, how does that work? Implanted memories?"

"A shit job of it," Jane answered, shrugging. "More like implanted _facts_. For instance, I know that you broke your arm when you were seven. But I have no idea how or what it felt like."

"An apple tree," Rebecca said, smiling. "It was a dare from Joey Benson. He bet he could climb higher than me. Turns out he was wrong…"

Jane shared a smile with _THE_ commander Shepard. Her mind was going a thousand miles per hour, trying to get a feel for this conversation.

"So…have you talked to Admiral Anderson yet? Or Mo… or your mom?"

"Talked to Anderson," Shepard nodded. "Had to have the awkward, 'I'm not dead' conversation. As for my Mom…"

Shepard shook her head, then winced.

"I sent her a message…"

"You sent her a _Holo_ mail?" Jane asked incredulously.

"I know, I know," Shepard said, raising her hands in mock surrender. "Not a moment I'm particularly proud of. But…Mom and I have never been on good terms recently."

 _Not since Dad died_ , thought Jane, but then bit back the sentence.

"Tell me about her," she _did_ manage to say.

* * *

 ***BEKENSTEIN*  
BOLTZMAN SYSTEM  
SERPENT NEBULA**

Kai Leng made his way down the narrow corridor, blood dripping from his sword.

 _This would be a lot easier without having to carry this bitch_ , he thought, but then put it aside. She had been Keiji's one request: "Get her out of here."

And given that he had just _died_ for the two of them, it was the least Kai could do. The kid had been good: stealthy, methodical, with a good head on his shoulders. He was selfless, brave, and true. Reminded Kai of a younger and much more naïve version of himself.

 _Only difference is I didn't get myself killed being so goddamn noble._

He should have left Kai there. He and the girl were in the free; the way out had been clear. They should have gotten out when they had the chance. He'd have been ok…he'd gotten out of worse scrapes than that. But _nooo_ , they had to come rushing back _into_ the ambush, guns blazing and flash-bangs exploding. That kid hadn't even seen the sniper until it was too late. And the girl of course had screamed and tried to drag him with them.

With a gut wound like that, all he would have been was dead weight. Literally.

"Get her out of here."

That was all he'd said.

Kai had had to knock her out to get her to come with him. To leave him. She'd hate him for it. Might even try to kill him for it.

But she'd be alive to try...

Placing the girl down on one of the couches in the common area, he strode up to the pilot's chair, beginning the take-off sequence. At the same time, he dialed a number, the communicator coming online.

"This is Darksword, calling Gold Leader. Code: Black Swan. Repeat: Black Swan."

The face of Gianna Parasini appeared on the screen.

" **Gold Leader here. Go ahead, Darksword."**

"Confirmed: Donovan Hock _is_ supplying the Blue Sun Remnant with heavy arms and supplies. Transferring data now. Agent Shinobi is down. KIA."

" **Is that confirmed?"**

"Saw it myself. Hock put a gun to the kid's chest and pulled the _fucking_ trigger."

Gianna's face softened.

" **What went wrong?"**

"Hock was waiting for us," Kai said, bringing the ship out of atmo. "Don't know how. He had a whole squad of Eclipse heavy hitters cloaked and waiting for us as we were exiting the compound. Okuda sacrificed himself so we could get away."

" **Very good, Darksword. Passing this on to Imperator."**

"Orders?"

" **Escort Agent Nocturna to Safe Zone 2571. Await further instructions**."

"Roger that," he sighed, before the connection was terminated. He laid in a course for the Citadel and leaned back in the chair. Miss Goto and himself were going to be companions for a little while longer, it seemed.

 _Terrific_. _Gonna have to sleep with one eye open… maybe two._

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

 **Well, our party is wrapping up on Omega and bound for the next recruitment missions. Hope you guys enjoyed the recruitment of Mordin Solus, even though we didn't get** _ **that much**_ **conversation with the good doctor. Don't worry, all you Gilbert and Sullivan fans, we're going to get several conversations with the Hamster on Coffee, complete with songs and sexual innuendos! Please take the time to write a review and let me know what you think of the story so far, or send some ideas for where you'd like the story to go! Every time I get a notification that 'a new review has been posted to your story', it inspires me to write more! After all, this story is first and foremost for** _ **you**_ **, the readers.**

 **Thanks everyone!**

* * *

Reviewer Reponses:

Squadpunk 2.0 – Which bandwagon? The 'kicking Collector ass' bandwagon? If so, then yes!

griezz, Bearmauls – I have a friend who woke up from a medical coma after six months, and he had a lot of issues he had to work through. So I just got to thinking: how much more traumatic would it be to come back from the dead?

redcollector, Berserker of Klyntar, Alucard Bellsing, general-joseph-dickson – Don't worry. Shepard (and Jane) still have a face-to-face meeting with the Butcher of Torfan ahead. And yes, it will be glorious.

Guest, Zeru'Xil, Hebisama, Nagato21 – As far as the galaxy knows, there is no cure for the Ardat-Yakshi, because their difference is not an external pathogen, but a genetic mutation…. But who knows? Maybe Morinth's happy ending doesn't have to entail a cure…

Darth Slainous, tamagat – Mira, Ashley, and Morinth. Yep, that'll be a fun meeting…

Asahar4 – Figured it was a bit early for a calibration joke. They're kinda overused in fanfics, so I'm saving them like artillery strikes: To be used at _just_ the right moment.

Blaze1992 – No, Garrus and Shepard do _not_ trust Ko'le… completely, that is. How that is going to play into the future missions… Only time will tell.

Tahkaullus01 – I have plans for Garrus' loyalty mission. I hope it doesn't disappoint…

Biorr the Old, shugokage, METALHELLSPWN, dragons guard, Elvisfonz23, BJ Hassen, Jim, DOS73 - Thanks, everyone! Your encouragement is awesome and keeps me going! ROCK ON!

May the Father below accept you all when your times come, and until then, may the Mother keep you always.

EE-RAH!


	6. Chapter 6: Citadel Arrival

***CSV** _ **INDOMITABLE**_ *****

Jane wandered through the Indomitable, more bored than anything else.

The _Indomitable_ was an older model than the _Normandy_ , obviously, but she was still spacious enough. The top deck was the Command Center and main bridge, with the Captain's Cabin just offside. The middle level was the crew quarters, along with a Mess hall and the gym/armory. The lower levels were the cramped and crowded Engineering and Life Support, along with the Sickbay. One brief tour of that level had been enough to inform her that turians apparently thought very little about the comfort level of the engineers and doctors in the Hierarchy.

 _Incentive not to get shot, I guess._

Ko'le had gotten some kind of message and had ordered everyone back on board and they were now currently booking it to the Citadel. He and Javik had disappeared into the Captain's Cabin and hadn't come out since.

 _Damn it, where was EDI when you needed her?_ Jane thought. _She could just listen in and tell us what was going on._ Though she actually wondered if EDI would listen in on her "dad."

 _Gonna have to get the full story behind_ that _at some point,_ Jane mentally noted as she walked into the armory. A few crew were scattered around the armory, with weapons in various stages of assembly. She walked over the towering yet graceful figure of the Raloi on the far side, his weapon on the table in front of him.

"Greetings, Jane- _sha_ ," Turro'le said as she approached. "I trust you are in good health?"

"I am," she smiled at him. "May I join you?"

Turro cocked his head to the right, a gesture that she had learned was the Raloi equivalent of smiling. Facial expressions were difficult when one of the people in the conversation possessed beaks…

"Please," he said, gesturing to the spot on the bench beside him. "I would be glad of the company."

Jane sat down, and the Raloi turned back to his weapon, his feathers manipulating several tools at once with a dexterity that would have made a shipful of Quarians weep with envy.

"How did it go?" he asked her, reaching for a spanner in the box on the table.

"How did what go?" Jane reached over and handed it to him, receiving a nod of thanks in return.

"Your talk with the Cor-Man-Deer Shepard. Your…original."

" _Co_ -Man- _der_ " Jane corrected, and then nodded. "It went…rather better than I expected. We had a good talk about families, and our… _her_ mother. It was good to put memories to the images and facts I have in my brain. I think…I think it will take time, though."

"These things usually do," Turro agreed, nodding sagely. "But it seems that this was a good start?"

"It does," Jane concluded, then turned her attention to the table. "OK, I'm sorry; I've seen you use this thing on Heshtok and on Omega, but I have to ask: What _is_ that thing?"

Turro cocked his head deeply to the right, running his feathers down the length of his weapon. "This," he said, "is a _Hak'kam'del'chow'ku'nu._ But…I believe your word for it is smaller."

"Umm… we would probably call it a 'bow.'"

"The name means, 'Bringer of Winged Death,'" Turro explained. "What does this word: 'bow' mean?"

"Umm… generally, it means 'to bend.'"

"Hmm," Turro said, nodding again, as if deep in thought. "Imaginative."

"So… how does it work?"

Turro finished one last screw, then picked up the weapon. He pointed a single feather at the cylindrical chamber in the center of the long arch.

"Power core is here," he explained, "Holding an ingot of radioactively-charged heavy metals."

"Pull the charging handle here," he continued, then grabbed a ring-shaped handle on the inside of the curve. He pulled it towards his body and a purple arc of energy buzzed from each of the orbs on the ends of the "bow" to the center handle. "And the charge-rods charge the fragment with energy. The further back and the longer the draw, the greater the energy transfer. The fragment of the rod will be no larger than a grain of sand, but it will hit with the force of a charging _siduju._ "

Jane didn't know what a _siduju_ was, but she inferred from what she had observed of the bow's capabilities that it was a Raloian word for "Big Fucking Animal."

"What's the range on that thing?" she asked.

"As I said," He answered, "The longer the draw and the longer the hold, the greater the range. In order to qualify for the First Levy in my tribe, I had to hit the mark at 800 meters."

 _800 meters,_ Jane marveled silently, quickly doing the math in her head. _That's nearly half a mile…_

"There are tales of the great Kidak'Makka holding his _Hak'kam_ for an entire day and a night, striking down his enemy from fifty miles away," Turro said, his eyes growing distant and his voice assuming a tone of reverence. Then he shook his head, feathers _swishing_ together in a low rustle.

"But those are most likely just myths, converted from legend long ago. Most likely not true…"

"But those make the best stories!" Jane said, "Why should we stop believing in them just because they _may not_ be true?"

Turro'le now bent his head deeply to the right, almost looking completely sideways at Jane, his beak slightly ajar. She smiled back.

"Kindred spirits we may yet be, Jane- _sha_ ," the big Raloi said, reaching out and punching Jane's shoulder lightly. "You speak as one of the monk-hawks of _Roussos_ : with great wisdom."

"I don't know about that…" Jane said, fighting a blush.

"Are you excited to see the Citadel?" Turro asked, changing the subject.

"I am," Jane nodded. "I have…images of it in my head. But I'm excited to see in person for the first time."

"I as well," Turro agreed. "I am anxious to see how it compares with Starlight Station. And perhaps see another of my people at the Embassy."

Again, the head cocked to the right.

"Perhaps a _female_ …"

Jane shook her head as she chuckled.

* * *

 ***THE CITADEL***  
 **SERPENT NEBULA**  
 **WIDOW RELAY**

The _Normandy_ slowly came towards the Citadel Dock. It seemed… almost surreal to Shepard, to see the Presidium, which had still been smoking ruins for the most part the last time she was here, repaired and restored to its former glory. The short fly-by revealed some sections of the Wards were still being rebuilt, but it was truly awesome to see in person.

"Almost like we never left, right?" Joker asked. Shepard just nodded wordlessly.

"So…. How'd it go?"

"How'd what go?"

"Meeting your _clone_ ," Joker said, his eyebrows rising in a way that Shepard was _not_ comfortable with at all. "Was it… you know…"

"That's enough of _your_ perverted mind, Flight Lieutenant," Shepard cut him off. "We just _talked_ , that's all. Mostly about my mother, come to think of it…"

"Interesting…"

Shepard reached up a hand and lightly smacked him on the back of the head.

"HEY! Don't play games with the driver!" Joker complained good-naturedly.

" **We are currently navigating on auto-pilot, Commander Shepard,"** EDI said, her avatar projecting into the co-pilot's seat. **"Feel free to smack Mr. Moreau again."**

"Snitch," Joker said, after Shepard had followed her advice and smacked him again.

" **Bitch."**

"Tattle-tale."

" **Crybaby."**

"Ok, you two, play nice," Shepard chuckled. "We are supposed to be on our best behavior, after all."

" **I only play nice with organics before I kill them."**

Shepard and Joker looked over with somewhat blank expressions.

" **That was a joke."**

"Hehe," Joker managed weakly, before turning his head back to flying the ship.

With a slow _whine_ and _hiss_ , the docking clamps locked the _Normandy_ into place, and the gangplank extended, connecting with the side-door. Shepard straightened her shoulders and took a deep breath.

"Ok," she said resolutely. "Let's do this…"

* * *

 ***IMMORTALS DOCKING COMPLEX***  
 **SECRET LOCATION ON CITADEL**

"NOM ROTA!"

I strode forward, giving the volus a giant hug. Or, more accurately, gave his power-armor a hug. The smuggler had modified his suit to make himself equal in height to a human, asari, or a turian. Mechanical arms folded around my shoulders, and hydraulics at his "hips" _hissed_ as I was picked up a giant bear-hug.

"It is good to see you, _Imperator_ ," Nom Rota said, setting me back down.

"I offer you your choice of captaincy of any ship in the Immortal's or Conclave's fleet, and you _still_ stick with this heap of junk?" I joked, gesturing toward the nearby docked _Iswanee_. The _Ohulu_ -class corvette had been given a complete overhaul, with her hull sand-blasted and repainted, and the mismatched and re-patched bits and pieces replaced with state-of-the-art technology. However, it still looked portly and unimpressive next to the _Indomitable_.

"What, and leave my baby?" Nom Rota asked, feigning offense. "There's not a ship in the Conclave fleet that can match her for speed and maneuverability, not even that hulking mass you arrived in."

"Admittedly: The _Indomitable_ does have over five times our firepower, Nom."

"Hello, Kapena," I greeted the _Iswanee_ 's elcor first mate. The elcor bowed low.

"With extreme joy: It is good to see you again, Ko'le."

Morinth was now descending the gangplank, and hugs and kisses were exchanged with her former ship-mates.

"Yara, when are you going to give up the commando lifestyle and come back to make a dishonest living with Kapena and me?"

"When you get a new line, Nom Rota," Morinth laughed, but still gave him a peck on the cheek. "Besides, it looks like you've done well without me."

"Hopeless," Nom said, gesturing to the crew that were currently unloading crates. "Bolts has proven to be the most useful member of the crew since that tactical upgrade those New Geth gave him."

"Very kind of you to say, sir, but we _are_ now in fact a geth-" the LOKI mech stated, picking up a 300-lbs crate.

"Shut up and go back to studying sarcasm, you clanking conglomeration," Nom said. "And on top of that, I've got a pair of asari maidens who I'm pretty sure are running away from home for the _first time_ , and I even had to recruit my _nephew_ into the business. I'm reduced to calling upon _family_ for help."

He spread his hands in mock desperation.

" _This_ is what I get for throwing in with the Immortals."

"Yes," I continued mockingly. "You have gained a completely new ship, limitless contacts across the galaxy, and unfettered access to an unregistered shipping dock on the Citadel. You've been slumming it for sure, Rota."

"What are you smuggling in _now,_ that you didn't want Citadel Security knowing about?" Morinth asked.

"Just some black-market medical mods," Nom said innocently. "The kind of stuff the uppity millionaires here will pay a tidy sum for, rather than being on a three-year waiting list."

Morinth, Nom, and Kapena started talking profits and contacts, while I walked over to Bolts.

"Bolts? That is the name of the get unit in front of me?" I asked.

"Ko'le –Mentor, it is good to see you again," Bolts said, "Yes, this platform can only support 800 of us, but it has been integrated into the New Geth."

"What news from Haestrom?" I asked. "How goes it with Mira-Prophet?"

"At last report, all was well," Bolts answered. "Agwe-Magi and Mira-Prophet had secured a significant beachhead against the Heretics, along with Creator-Zorah. Experiments with dark-sun have begun and are at acceptable levels of progress."

"Thank you, Bolts," I said. "Pass along my compliments when next you achieve a link with them."

"It will be done. And you are very welcome, Ko'le-Mentor."

I strode over to collect Morinth and Reyna, as well as to say my farewells to Nom and Kapena. We proceeded to the nearest FastTravel Station, where I plugged in an address for the Wards.

"Not to the Citadel Embassy?" Morinth asked coquettishly. "Ko'le… are you spiriting two girls away for a secret rendezvous? _Such a romantic_ …"

Reyna rolled her eyes at the inference. "Oh _gods…_ "

"Officially, we're not even _on_ the Citadel, remember?" I asked. "This is an Immortals safe-house. We're here to meet with an old friend."

"Didn't know you _had_ any old friends left," Morinth said. I shot her a glare but exited the Skycar as it landed on the roof. The three of us took the stairs down to a door, where I inputted a code. The door unlocked with a solid _ka-chunk_.

"Wow… what a dump," Reyna said, looking around the somewhat less-than-stellar neighborhood. "It's more like a quarantine zone than a safe-"

The end of her sentence was cut off when she caught sight of the lavishly-furnished inside of the apartment. It looked like something straight out of the Presidium, decorated with modern art sculptures and white… well, everything.

"Impressive," Morinth said, looking around.

"Yes, the Illuminated Primacy knew what they were doing when they built it," I said simply. "It was originally one of theirs _._ And _you_ can come out now, Leng," I said, pointing to an empty corner. "I can see you just fine…"

Kai Leng de-cloaked, looking slightly crestfallen. Reyna and Morinth started, but the Ardat-Yakshi then grinned and started giving him the once-over. The Cerberus assassin plopped down in an easy-chair, folding his arms across his chest.

"Damn you and your Prothean implants, _Imperator_."

"You rely too much on that cloaking device, Leng," I stated simply. "Now, where is Miss Goto?"

"She got a message that the _Normandy_ was docking and ran off," he shrugged. "Apparently Parassini-san promised her some type of revenge or some shit."

I cursed inwardly at missing her, but at the same time smiled at it all coming together.

"What's the news on the _Normandy_?"

Kai shrugged non-committedly again. "Beats me. They landed about 20 minutes ago, so they could be anywhere on the Citadel by now."

"She'll be going to see the Council," Reyna suggested. "She'll want her Spectre status re-affirmed, right?"

"Maybe, but there's no way she's not going to see Anderson first," Morinth said, reclining on a couch and apparently eyeing Kai Leng up and down appreciatively. "Not unless the Council ambushes her on the loading dock."

"She'll probably accomplish both in one fell swoop," I said, remembering Mass Effect 2 with a smile. "Go to Anderson's office on the Presidium, and then Holo-conference with the Council."

"What kind of brilliant tales about us do you think she's giving them?" asked Morinth.

"Well, officially, the Council still denies the Reapers are anything but a myth created by Saren and the geth, so we have that going for us," I said, "Plus, Shepard has seen Singapore Nova. She _knows_ what we're up against. I'm not worried about that."

I turned to look at Leng.

"What I _am_ worried about is a black-market arms dealer selling to our enemies. What information did you get out of Donovan Hock's system?"

"Not much," Kai admitted, "at least, not much before it all went to shit. There was a bill of sale from one Commander Jedore to Donovan Hock, with an additional order of lab and medical equipment for someone named…"

"Okeer," I finished.

 _So that's where you've been, you sneaky, clever bastard._

"Where?" I asked. "Where are they headquartered? Where were the supplies to be delivered?"

"To a few dead-drop locations in the Imir System asteroid belt," Kai answered. "From there, the Blue Sun supply ships could have taken them anywhere…"

"Sounds like we'll need to pay Mr. Hock a visit," I said dryly. "I don't doubt that Miss Goto is currently trying to talk Commander Shepard into doing the same thing."

"She doesn't seem to trust _us_ anymore," Reyna observed, "Or else she would have waited here to talk to _you_." I nodded to confirm her line of thought.

"With good enough cause," Kai said, "Her boyfriend did just _die_ because we sent him into a trap."

That surprised me.

 _Very caring statement for a psychopath,_ I thought. _But then again, maybe he was a psycho in the games because of all the Cerberus Reaper-based implants TIM had put in his head._

 _He_ _did_ _also get drummed out of the N7 ranks for the murder of a krogan in a Citadel bar._

 _We don't know the reason behind it._

 _Other than he's a flaming racist?_

 _So was Ashley. Let him work with aliens, and see their strengths and values. Freed from Cerberus brainwashing and implantation, who knows what kind of person he will be?_

 _That's what we thought of Brooks. Look how well that turned out for us…._

 _For me… For me. For me. Not us… Me._

I released my breath slowly.

"She'll trust Shepard, though. And that works well enough for our purposes."

"If you're returning to Bekenstien, sir," Kai said, rising to his feet, "I want in."

I stared at him, raising an eyebrow.

"I…have…red in my ledger," Kai Leng said slowly. "He was…a good kid: Okuda. He didn't have to die there, and certainly not like _that._ I owe Donovan Hock _pain._ "

 _So he does care…_

I nodded, once. "Then welcome aboard, Kai Leng. I'll confirm your appointment with the general later on."

Kai relaxed, with…was that _gratitude_ …coming across his face.

"What are your orders, sir?"

"I need to meet up with Shepard at some point," I said, "To try and coordinate our efforts. You three gather what we need, and meet up with me at the ship."

I forwarded Reyna and Morinth each a shopping list of supplies I thought we would need. Reyna looked up from her list.

"What about you?"

"First I need to talk to Parassini," I answered. "Go, now."

The three companions looked at me, then at each other, and then left the room, heading back out into the Wards. I turned and dialed a number.

"I salute and do call upon the Xiz'matchi, who stand for the First Masters."

" **SPEAK THEN, ORDAINED, AND WE OBEY,"** came the voice.

"Where is Commander Shepard?" I asked.

" **SHE MEETS WITH THE COUNCIL NOW, ORDAINED. THEY NAME HER SPECTRE ONCE AGAIN, IN RETURN FOR HER SILENCE."**

I smiled.

 _That was the Council all over: Promise to leave us alone, and we'll give you whatever you want._

 _Blind, stupid fools._

" **THEY WARN HER AGAINST YOU, ORDAINED. THEY TELL HER YOU ARE NOT TO BE TRUSTED: THAT THE MARK OF CERBERUS LIES HEAVY UPON YOU."**

 _Of course they do. What else could I expect, after what I did to them?_

"Thankee-sai, Keeper," I said. "I remain the servant of the First Masters, as thee."

" **UNTIL THE CYCLES BE ENDED, ORDAINED."**

Next, I called up Gianna Parassini. Right now, all I had were questions. And I needed answers…

What I got was a couple gigabytes of mission reports and agent check-ins, needing the _Imperator_ 's authorization, or required the personal overwatch of the CEO of the PMC group _The Immortals_.

Damn, I hated paperwork. But this is how stuff was done in the real world. It doesn't all go to a nice, succinct message that appears in your inbox.

Well, it would for Shepard, but I would be the reason for that. I sifted and combed through dry and meaningless reports, pulling out the nuggets of information that would be necessary for the crew:

 _A volus trading vessel in the Alpha Draconis System picking up a distress call from a ship that identified itself as the Hugo Gernsback._

 _The reward one Jona Sederis is offering on Illium for any information on a human girl named Oriana Lawson…_

 _A dossier from the Krogan Rebellions on Warlord Okeer._

 _A Blood Pack Death Mark against one Maelon Heplorn…_

 _A monthly report on birthrates in Clan Urdnot…_

* * *

Shepard walked out of the Presidium, slowly, trying to take it all in.

Thanks to that C-Sec Captain… _Bailey, was it?_ Anyway, thanks to him, she was no longer listed as _dead._ That seemed to make the rest of her day go smoother.

Seeing Anderson had been good, even if Udina had to have been there. She would have loved to spend the afternoon with him, to catch up on the almost two years she'd been gone, but that would have to wait for another time.

The meeting with the Council had gone better than expected, as well. She was now formally a Council Spectre once again: free to act with almost complete immunity, and impunity. It certainly gave her more resources to go after the Collectors, making her less dependent on Ko'le and the Conclave.

 _That_ thought gave her pause: could Ko'le really not be trusted, as they said? What did she really _know_ about the Neanderthal?

 _He was the second in command of a dead empire that once ruled the entire galaxy with an iron fist, without mercy or compassion._

 _He had risked his own life to save countless others: On Therum, on Feros, and on Noveria._

 _He had risked his freedom to guarantee that the Normandy could make it off the Citadel to the Mu Relay._

 _He had gathered an army of gang-bangers, gunslingers, and street hoods, and bought the Citadel valuable time against Saren's geth and krogan horde._

 _Worshipped as an almost-god, he had rallied the overlooked and the undervalued races of the galaxy to his side, with promises of safety and security._

 _He had hijacked two of the galaxy's most infamous terrorist organizations, and used their ships and men to supplement his own military._

 _He had used said military to seize control of almost the entire Terminus Systems. Only a few of the strongest warlords or the most desolate regions still defied him._

 _He had technology that could built fleets in months that would take any other power years to build, and could bring the dead back to life again._

 _At his word alone, the Rachni, the Hanar, the New Geth, the Protheans, and the Thorians bowed and obeyed, without question or reservation. Along with Oleg Petrovsky's and his own vote, that was alone a majority of the Conclave Circle._

 _A majority vote that Ko'le controlled and could bend to his will._

 _But he's not controlling them directly. That's still democracy, right?_

 _Right?_

" **Commander Shepard."**

The sudden calling of her voice brought her back to the present, and she looked around, half-expecting some reporter or some politician to have tracked her down.

There was no none.

" **Commander Shepard, we have the perfect companions lined up for you. Perhaps something petite, smart, and Japanese would be your style?"**

 _The ad…_

Shepard shook her head as she looked at the advertising poster. The picture was of a hooded female figure, pale with a _touch_ of dark lipstick. The eyes glowed in the darkness created by the hood.

 _Was it a live, feed, or pre-recorded to scan the Omni-Tool_ _of whoever was walking by_? She wondered.

But even as she drew closer, the picture changed.

" **Please tell me your password, Commander Shepard."**

Shepard looked confused for a minute, and then her Omni-Tool buzzed. She looked down to see the sentence,

 _Silence is golden._

Now she was intrigued. If this was some kind of escort service, they were _very_ good. But something told her this was something else.

 _Might as well see where this leads…_

"Uhh…Silence is golden?" she asked. The female bowed respectfully in a very traditional Japanese manner.

" **Good to finally meet you, Commander Shepard. Kasumi Goto. I'm a big fan."**

 _Oh, great. Another fan. At least this one was a good deal classier than Conrad Verner. And better looking…_

"So what's with the password, and sneaking around?" she asked.

" **I'm the best thief in the business, not the most famous,"** Kasumi answered **. "Have to work hard to keep it that way. Needed to make sure you were legit…the real thing."**

"Why? For what?"

"To offer you my help. In exchange for a small favor."

"Well," Shepard said, automatically on the defensive, "That depends on the help, and the favor."

"You're going to go fight the Collectors," Kasumi said. "You need someone who can sneak in and out of places that you might not be able to blast your way into. That's the help."

Shepard nodded. Whoever this girl was, she had proven she at least had _skills_. She had hacked not only the advertisement on the Presidium, but also found and hacked Shepard's personal Omni-Tool.

"I also have inside information on the Conclave," Kasumi added. "You might find it interesting."

 _That_ got Shepard's attention.

"Alright, Miss Goto," she said, smiling. "You've intrigued me. Not an easy thing to do. What's the favor?"

"Something…I care very much about was taken from me," Kasumi said, and her whole expression was downcast for a moment. "I…can't get it back by myself. But with the help of someone with your skills, it'll be a simple task."

Shepard thought about it for a minute, then made up her mind. She needed intel on the Conclave, and needed it independently of Alliance, Council, or Conclave sources.

"Very well, Kasumi," she said. "Meet me on my ship. Your intel proves credible, and I'll help you however I can."

The Japanese girl's face lit up, and the mischievous grin broke into a smile.

"You won't regret this…Commander," she said, throwing up a mock-serious salute. The feed ended, and an advertisement for home-owners insurance replaced the giant image of Kasumi's face.

Shepard cocked her head sideways while she was thinking. She debated on whether going back to the _Normandy_ , or to…

Her Omni-Tool buzzed again. She looked down to see that she had two new messages:

One from Garrus, wondering when she would be back at the ship.

And one from… 'Unknown Sender.'

Shepard hit 'Open' and read the line.

And reread it:

- _Come home, amchara._

_-_ L

 _No._

 _No._

Surely that place wasn't still here.

 _She wouldn't have kept it after all this time…would she?_

She had to find out.

She signaled a Skycar, answering Garrus' message asking when she would be back, sticking to the noncommittal answer that she would be back 'later.'

The automated ride took her to one of the higher-end sections of the Presidium, setting her down on a private landing platform on the top of a skyscraper. She exited, suddenly feeling nervous for some reason.

 _Why? Nothing is going to come of this. No reason to be nervous_ , she told herself over and over as she walked toward the door.

Locked.

Of course.

Shepard looked at the hand scanner to the right of the door.

 _Moment of Truth._

She placed her hand over the scanner, and the blue line passed over it.

And turned green.

The door opened with a _hiss_.

Shepard pushed the door open, and walked into the apartment. It was spacious…but that was largely because it was mostly empty. There was a single couch in front of the fireplace, and a piano in the corner. Shepard walked forward, slowly, her footsteps sounding loud and jarring in the empty space. She couldn't help but feeling like she was an intruder in a sacred place.

"I couldn't bear to part with it."

 _Her._

Shepard whirled. Above her, on the second floor, overlooking the living room, an asari stood in a pale evening gown, which moved slightly with the draft she was now letting into the room via the open door. It was almost… _see-through_ …and Shepard's mouth was suddenly very dry, and…other places were suddenly… _not_ dry.

"I've come here so many times," Liara said, as Shepard slowly made her way up the stairs. "I keep thinking…remembering…when we picked it out. You remember? We had that volus real-estate agent who…who…"

Shepard was now on the second floor, and was slowly walking toward her asari lover, her mouth still slightly ajar.

" _Goddess,_ Becca…please…say something?"

Shepard suddenly _snapped_. The final pace between her and Liara was crossed in an instant, and her lips were closed on hers, with Liara letting out a mewling, gasping cry, throwing her arms around the Spectre.

Shepard vaguely heard the tearing of fabric before she realized that she had torn the gown Liara had been wearing in two, the two halves floating down to the ground, and a now _very_ naked Liara was fumbling with her Alliance uniform, with the awkward gestures of the overeager and the frustrated. Shepard reached up to her own collar and _pulled_. Fabric and buttons gave way to newly-acquired augmented strength and she felt a rush of cool air over her now exposed skin, right before warm lips and seeking hands found their way around her waist.

 _Oh god._

"Liara…" she managed to moan.

The asari let out a half-sob and found Shepard's lips again.

"Say it again, _amchara,_ " she said, in-between hungry kisses. "Say it again..."

"Liara…"

The name was a hungry growl, and Shepard was free of her dress shirt. She half-pushed, half-carried Liara the rest of the way towards the large mattress sitting on the floor of the master bedroom. She felt Liara's hands unfasten the clip of her bra and felt it float down to the floor. Shepard _needed_ to feel, to touch. It was a hunger that might have scared her, if she had allowed herself to think about it. The Spectre felt herself unraveling, with fragments of thought or speech sometimes escaping her or Liara, usually along the line of "More" and "Please", and when she felt the asari slip two fingers inside her folds, she gave up coherent thought altogether.

* * *

"I always knew you would come back."

Liara and Shepard were laying on the bed now, too exhausted to go for round…six, but too worked up to go to sleep. So they had settled on lying on the bed, staring up at the ceiling, just content to have each other to touch, to convince themselves that this was real. Liara had nuzzled her head into the crook of Shepard's shoulder, running her hand up and down the human's body.

"That's more than I knew," Shepard said. "Last thing I remember was…floating away, watching my ship burn…and then…and then…"

" _Shhhhh,_ amchara, _Shhhhh_ ," Liara said, kissing Shepard's neck in _that way_ that she always did. "You're back, that's all that matters."

"Complete with new body," Shepard half-laughed, gesturing down at herself.

"Not so new that I didn't know my way around it," Liara said slyly. Then her face grew serious for a moment. "I know you probably have questions…"

Shepard cut her off with a passionate kiss.

"Later, _amchara_ ," she said. "Right now…I just need _this._ Just give me this for now. I've dreamed of this for so long… _"_

Liara smiled, and there was a glistening in her eyes, but she held her human lover tight, just listening to her heartbeat.

" _Anything, my love_ ," she whispered, _"Anything and Always."_

"I love you."

* * *

"Zaeed, are you sure about this?"

Helena Blake leaned back against her chair, looking at the projected hologram sitting opposite her. The old mercenary 'pushed' a digital document across the table. She 'caught' it with her Omni-Tool, examining it for herself.

"Lena," Zaeed smiled, in that way she _hated_ to love, "You've known me probably as long as anybody else in the galaxy."

"Longer, you mean: You doddering old man."

Zaeed smiled again, but continued, "I _thought_ I could come back: just slip back into the Commander's seat and take up the Black Suns. Run them just like I always intended to run the Blue Suns. I owed Ko'le enough to _try,_ anyway. But…"

"I know," Helena said, making it easy for him. "You've always been out on your own, Massani. Responsibility was never a mantle you wore easily."

Zaeed nodded.

"This old dog's too old to try and re-learn new tricks. I was shit at it the last time, and am only…moderately well at it this time."

"You have the men's respect," Helena reassured. "No one can dispute that."

"If I don't do this, half of the men will be gone within two years," Zaeed said, "I don't have the patience or the people skills to start molly-coddling boot-lickers and ass-wipes."

"The _Imperator_ won't be happy," Helena warned, "This is _exactly_ what he promised Aria T'Loak _wouldn't_ happen. She'll be more than a little peeved, too, come to think of it."

Zaeed shrugged. "If I don't come back from this, then I won't have to worry about it anyway."

"Gee, thanks."

Helena suddenly leaned forward, concern on her face.

"Zee, be honest with me? Is this just you trying to _die_? Because I _won't stand_ for that, do you hear? You say you want to do this, fine. But I won't let you go off on a suicide mission just because you refuse to grow old and feeble like the rest of us!"

The old mercenary chuckled, shaking his head.

"Don't worry about me, Lena: Not the 'blaze of glory' type. I fully intend on coming back from this. If anybody can pull it off, it's Shepard. That girl's got fire in her soul. Reminds me of…of…"

"…a younger _you_?" Helena offered.

"FUCK, no," Zaeed disagreed, laughing, "She's got too good a head on her shoulders for that. She's got a way of inspiring everyone around her. No matter how crazy the mission, she stands up to break it down, and suddenly you find yourself thinking it's possible. Hellova girl… I _need this_ , Lena: The chance to do something I really believe in. An impossible mission, against impossible odds…"

Helena held up her hands.

"Alright, old timer, you don't have to recruit _me_ for your god-damn tomfoolery. Just let the record show, I do this under protest, and because I don't trust anybody else enough to do this."

"Fair enough."

Helena Blake affixed her signature to the very bottom of the page, right underneath Zaeed Massani's barely-discernible scrawl. Zaeed stood up and offered his hand. Helena stood and took it, insofar as it was possible. Her hands may have been empty, but the gesture was far from it.

"The Black Suns are yours, _Executive Officer_ Blake."

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

 **Oi. This chapter definitely confirmed one thing to me: I am terrible at writing love scenes.**

 **Well everybody, not an action-packed chapter, but I promise, we're gonna see a lot of hell unfolding in the next couple of chapters: Donovan Hock is getting a surprise visit, and then we've got to go get the rest of the crew recruited. :D Let me know your thoughts, please: even if it's just 'Good job, I liked it,' every review really picks me up and helps me to keep going.**

 **My apologies to everybody who picked up on the fact that I mixed up Solomon Gunn and Donovan Hock's name in last week's chapter. I fixed it, but thanks to the people who gave me some awesome ideas! You know who you are…**

 **Rock on, everybody!**

* * *

Reviewer Responses:

Zeru'Xil, METALHELLSPWN, BJ Hanssen – Glad you enjoyed it. The Sergeant Major is probably one my favorite OC's of this series. Probably a tie with Drot.

Jim – Well, for Rebecca, it's almost certainly going to remain a Liara/FemShep pairing. But the fun thing about a clone is that it allows for other options, which I'm still exploring creatively. Would love your suggestions.

dragons guard – about 5000-6000 words is an average chapter for me. Unless we're at a crucial point in the story, in which case the 9000-word chapters just come rolling off my fingers. But hope you liked the chapter, and you didn't even have to send your reaper for motivation. :D

Squadpunk 2.0 – Well, Shepard hasn't told anyone else about Jane yet, and neither has Ko'le… so this could go several ways.

Nagoato21, Tahkaullus01, DoubLLe – thanks for keeping me honest, you guys! Thanks for sticking with these stories. Reviewers like you are appreciated!

BrotherCaptainSheperd, tamagat – Kai Leng is another character Ko'le is going to have to keep his eye on, but Kevin wants to give another chance (since the Illusive Man is dead). Given past history on Kevin being _way_ too trusting, we'll see how it goes.

Pietersielie , general-joseph-dickson, redcollector, shugokage, Elvisfonz23, Guest– Thanks for the awesome words, everybody! You all really do encourage me to keep on going!

May the Father below accept you when your times comes, and until then, may the Mother keep you always.

EE-RAH!


	7. Chapter 7: Stealing Memories

***BEKENSTEIN***  
 **BOLTZMANN SYSTEM**  
 **SERPENT NEBULA**

"I feel…ridiculous."

"You look _ravishing_ , my darling," Liara said, leaning in to kiss Shepard's right ear.

Shepard looked down at the little black dress Liara had found for her to wear. _'Little'_ was definitely the word for it. The dress came down to hit her _just_ below her butt, making Shepard dubious about even taking large steps, much less bending over or _fighting_. The only reason she was taking comfort in was the knowledge that her trusty armor was only a few steps away, and the entire plan counted on her getting back in it before any action started. She leaned forward, facing away from the crowd milling about at this little party.

"Goto, you have eyes on the prize?"

" **Found the vault door. Oh, Donny, you don't mess around, do you?"**

"Is it going to be a problem?" Liara asked, still smiling into her champagne flute. To all casual observers, it looked like Alison Gunn and her indentured asari were chatting over in the corner of the party.

In reality, the Hero of the Citadel and the Shadow Broker were coordinating with one of the master thieves of the galaxy to break into one of the largest arms dealer's private vault to steal her dead lover's graybox before incriminating Alliance secrets could be pulled from it and sold at the highest bidder.

" **Are you kidding? I am** _ **me.**_ **With this hacking shunt your girlfriend came up with, we'll be through in no time, Shep."**

 _Girlfriend_.

Shepard looked back over at Liara, who just gave her another of those coy smiles that drove her wild. Then suddenly her eyes flickered to the left, with the ' _Trouble_ ' look. Shepard nodded, almost imperceptibly.

"Miss Gunn, isn't it?"

The South African accent marked the speaker as only one possible owner: Donovan Hock.

" **Oh, perfect,"** Kasumi said. **"I need a voice sample for the vault. Keep him talking as long as possible."**

"Mr. Hock," Shepard said, plastering on the smile she usually reserved for paparazzi and the press. "This is a lovely party."

"And that is a lovely dress," he said, ogling her shamelessly. Shepard suppressed the knee-jerk reaction to punch him in his perfect teeth. "And thank you. Say what you will about the Conclave, but they've certainly drummed up a lot of business for me."

"Do you contract directly with the Conclave?" Shepard asked, earning a solid guffaw from Hock.

"HAHAAHA, oh, no, quite the opposite. A little-too attached to morals, for my taste."

"I would think that people in your line of work would have _lost_ a lot of customers recently," Shepard continued. "I mean, Tortuga? Cartagena? Not a lot of free ports left in the Terminus Systems."

Hock nodded his agreement, but that insufferable grin never left his features. "True, but one man's hardship is another man's opportunity as well. Our favorite _Imperator_ and his little merry band have made it very hard for… my more _enterprising_ clients to get the merchandise they require for their business endeavors. So I can certainly afford to gather some friends together to celebrate my good fortune."

"A lot of security for just a gathering of friends," Shepard observed, nodding towards a pair of guards who had just taken up position on either side of the side door.

"Oh, I contracted Eclipse to provide all of my private security," Donovan said, smiling proudly. "You can't be too careful in my line of work."

"I couldn't help but notice all of them are human," Liara chimed in, giving the arms dealer one of her million-credit smiles. "Odd, for an asari-owned PMC."

"Of course," Hock answered, "I _had_ to insist on an all-human contingent. I like to be guarded by _soldiers_ , not whores."

 _Wow. Asshole AND a racist_ , thought Shepard.

" **Aaaand yet another reason to rob this person blind** _ **,**_ **"** Kasumi's voice buzzed in Shepard's ear.

"Are you expecting some kind of trouble?" Liara asked, ignoring the racist remark entirely. She pointed at the four or more Eclipse soldiers who had taken up positions around the room. Hock furrowed his eyebrows.

"No, no, no," he muttered, walking away, "I said _discreet_ and _out of sight_ …"

He strode over to a woman in yellow armor who Shepard recognized as Chief Roe from Kasumi and Liara's information on Hock's security. She saw Hock stride over and have a private word with Roe.

To which Roe responded by drawing her side-arm and firing a round through Hock's thigh.

 _FUCK._

"Goto, stand by, something's going on out here," Shepard said, instinctively putting herself between danger and Liara.

"EVERYONE REMAIN CALM," Roe called out, as the dinner guests had responded to the gunshot with panicked screams, mostly. Eclipse soldiers now were pouring out of every door, rifles trained on the crowd. "I NEED EVERYONE TO GET ON THEIR KNEES. NOW."

Shepard and Liara joined everyone else in the room kneeling with their hands on their heads.

"ROE, YOU FUCKING BITCH!" Hock screamed, trying to apply pressure on the gunshot wound. "SEDERIS AND I HAD A DEAL-"

"And now Madam Sederis apparently has other plans for you, Hock," Roe said, pointing her pistol at his head. "Now shut the fuck up."

"What are you going to do to us?" another of the dinner guest asked in a panicked tone of voice.

"Me? Not a damn thing," Roe said, "Them, on the other hand…"

Shepard and the rest of the guests followed her pointing to see a Kodiak shuttle come swooping around the building and hover about the back balcony. It was black with gold accents, including a giant "C" painted on the side.

 _Conclave_.

The side door opened, and three figures stepped out in black and gold armor, along with an Eclipse sister in yellow. The leader's armor looked like it came straight out of a copy of _The Book of Five Rings_ by Miyamoto Musashi.

"Ko'le…" Liara said slowly next to Shepard.

"Sir, I must protest," one of the guests said, rising to his feet. "This is an Alliance planet, and therefore is under the jurisdiction of the Council…"

That was as far as he got, as the long-haired human next to Ko'le sent a sweeping side-kick that brought the man to his knees again with a howl of agony.

" **Jurisdiction?"** Ko'le asked, his voice amplified and distorted through his samurai helmet. **"You, Joseph Raskin, are a slave trafficker and the lowest form of scum in the galaxy. If C-Sec gets mad at me, it will be because they didn't get to come down here and do** _ **this**_ **themselves."**

A pistol appeared in his hand and the Neanderthal fired once, through Mr. Raskin's head. Then he turned to the kneeling crowd.

" **Any more would-be lawyers amongst you?"**

Nobody answered. The Eclipse sister then turned to Chief Roe, still standing above Donovan Hock.

"Chief Roe, I see you received your orders from Madam Sederis."

"Yes, Captain D'len," Roe answered, nodding respectfully, "My orders are to deliver Mr. Hock over to the _Imperator_ and to cooperate fully with your commands."

Captain D'len nodded, then looked around the room. "Oh, Commander Shepard, Miss T'Soni, you can stand up now."

Shepard and Liara shared a look, and then slowly stood up. Ko'le holstered his weapon, then pointed at Shepard. She opened her mouth to say something, but Ko'le cut her off.

" **We'll talk later, Shepard. Right now, we have bigger fish to fry."**

He reached down and grabbed Hock by the throat.

" **Donovan Hock, I presume?"**

Hock nodded wordlessly, his breath coming in wheezing pants.

" **I believe you and Mr. Leng are already acquainted?"**

Hock looked at the long-haired solider next to Ko'le, and paled.

"P-p-please…" he managed.

"Ko'le, I need him _alive_ ," Shepard hissed.

Ko'le shot her a look.

" **Well, then: let's go check on Miss Goto's progress, shall we?"**

The arms dealer was lifted bodily off the floor and dragged down the hall towards the vault door. The door opened, revealing…no one.

"You can show yourself, Miss Goto," Ko'le said, the voice scrambler in his helmet turned off. He pointed to an empty spot in the corner. "I can see you just fine."

To Shepard's surprise, Kasumi de-cloaked exactly where Ko'le was pointing.

"Miss Goto, how far have you made it?" Ko'le asked, still holding Hock by the throat.

Kasumi paused for a moment, then apparently made up her mind.

"Everything except for the password."

Ko'le dropped Hock down on the floor, where he made a big show of coughing and gagging.

"What is the password into the vault, Mr. Hock?" Ko'le asked.

"Why the _fuck_ would I tell you?" the arms dealer asked. "You'll just kill me as soon as I do…"

"Mr. Leng," Ko'le snapped. "Mr. Hock apparently has no further need of his right arm. Please take it from him."

Leng reached behind his right shoulder, drawing a thin, long vibroblade. Hock hugged his right arm to his chest, letting out a high-pitched whimper.

"No?" asked Ko'le, who bent over to look down at the cowering figure. "Perhaps you'd prefer if I handed you over to either of the asari here? They could fillet your mind like a side of cod, Mr. Hock. You'd be lucky if you could eat the rest of your meals through a straw afterwards. Or…" he paused dramatically, "You can just state the one-word password that allows us into your vault."

Donovan Hock looked back and forth at all the figures in the room, then sighed in defeat.

"Thermopylae."

The door opened, revealing rows upon rows of priceless historical artifacts. Shepard recognized the statue of _David_ and the _Statue of Liberty_ from Earth history. Anything else was filled in by either Kasumi or Liara. Around another corner…

"Oh, my god, is that a Locust?" Shepard asked, stepping forward to pick up the submachine gun.

"Not _a_ Locust, Shep," Kasumi said, equally marveling. "That _the_ Locust."

"I'm missing something, clearly," Liara said, looking back and forth between the two.

"The Gun that Killed Two Presidents," Shepard said quietly, sighting down the barrel.

"You're welcome to that, Shepard, if you want it," Ko'le said, still half-dragging Hock down each row, looking for something in particular. "I think the Alliance would most likely be interested in the rest of these artifacts. And how exactly they came into Mr. Hock's possession. Ahh, here it is."

Now they were paused in front of a small square, in a velvet display case. Ko'le, with his free hand, brought his sword down on the glass, sending broken shards in all directions. He re-sheathed the blade, and reached out to take the small device. There was the unmistakable sound of a pistol cocking. Kasumi stood on the other side of Shepard, her gun trained on the Seneschal.

"I believe that is _mine_ , Imperator," She said in a darkly even tone.

"Kasumi…." Shepard said, starting to move in between them.

"No, no, that's quite all right, Shepard," Ko'le said, slowly withdrawing his hand. "Miss Goto, I have no designs on Okuda's graybox. My ONLY, I repeat, my only, design, in all of this, is to return this to its rightful owner."

With one deft movement, he snatched up the graybox and tossed it to the Japanese thief. Kasumi dropped her pistol in order to catch the unexpected object with a sudden gasp. She looked down at the graybox and then back up at Ko'le, who had now turned to face her.

"I deeply regret Keiji Okuda's fate, Miss Goto. If I could have saved him, I would have. You have my deepest and most heartfelt condolences."

He suddenly sent a vicious back-kick to Donovan Hock's stomach, causing the man to grunt with pain and drop to his knees. Kasumi's pistol now floated biotically up to her eye level.

"I give you back your lover's graybox, and I give you the man who took him from you. He is yours to deal with as you see fit."

Donovan Hock would have run at this point, but found he locked in a stasis field from the waist down. He flailed wildly for a moment, then quailed in front of the now-armed Kasumi Goto.

"Kasumi…" he pleaded, "It wasn't personal! I swear…it was just… Oh God please no, please no..."

Shepard leaned forward.

"Kasumi," she said gently. "This won't bring Keiji back."

"HE deserves to PAY for what he did to him," Kasumi said, her voice breaking.

"I know," Shepard soothed, "Believe me, I know. But one more dead body won't solve anything."

Kasumi hesitated.

"Do you think Keiji would want this, if he could be here?"

Kasumi slowly lowered the pistol.

"No…he'd say this _gaijin_ wasn't even worth the bullet."

She turned and started walking towards the door. Ko'le looked over at Leng, then nodded. Kai raised his sword high, and then brought it down in a perfect thrust. Donovan Hock shuddered once, all the breath leaving his body in a rugged, gurgling, gasp. Then he fell to the floor, sliding off the blade. Leng reached over and pulled off a piece of velvet, wiping his blade clean. He looked up to meet Shepard's disapproving gaze.

"He killed a friend of mine," he said simply. "And I have too few in this galaxy to let that slide."

Shepard turned to look at Ko'le, who simply shrugged.

"So what now?" she asked. "We kill all the guests just because they happened to be at this asshole's party?"

Ko'le cocked his head to the left.

"No," he said, almost in a shocked tone of voice. "Follow me."

They went back out to the main lobby, where the rest of the guests were still kneeling.

"Jane? How did we do?" Ko'le asked.

The last Conclave armored figure had been scanning each of the guests with her Omni-Tool. She straightened and turned to the _Imperator_.

"Thirty-four guests, with a running total of…" she checked her Omni-Tool again, "512 outstanding warrants, from C-Sec, Alliance, RI, and even some Hegemony and Hierarchy criminals in here to boot."

"You have what we came here for?" Ko'le asked.

Shepard shot him a questioning look. Ko'le raised his hand in a "We'll talk later" gesture."

Jane nodded. "We have them, sir."

"Very good. Radio the Alliance once we're gone, Captain Roe," Ko'le said to the former head of the mansion's security. "Tell them you've managed to apprehend thirty-four dangerous criminals, and will turn them over to their authority at their earliest convenience."

Roe looked over at D'len, who nodded to confirm.

"Roger that, sir."

Ko'le turned back to Shepard, Liara, and Kasumi.

"Now that our business is concluded here…shall we go?"

* * *

* **SOME TIME LATER***

"HAVE YOU BOTH GONE STARK RAVING MAD?"

On board the _Indomitable_ , Ko'le had wasted no time in inviting Liara and Shepard up the Captain's cabin, where he was now roundly criticizing their plan to infiltrate Hock's vault.

"There was a chance for valuable intel," Shepard explained. "On top of that, we had a very narrow window of opportunity. I had to make a choice."

"YOU are the god-damn HERO of the god-damn CITADEL!" Ko'le continued incredulously. "YOUR face has been PLASTERED across every square inch of advertising space in all of Alliance space! AND YOU THOUGHT you would just slap on some makeup and a little black dress and drop into a party on FUCKING BEKENSTEIN and NOBODY WOULD RECOGNIZE you?!"

"It's been a year and half…" Liara started.

"You were MADE the second you stepped out of the shuttle from the Citadel!" Ko'le said, bringing up a still from Hock's surveillance video. A red square was around Shepard's head on the video with giant red letters that read 'ALERT' along with a full dossier on Shepard's Spectre status.

Coupled with that was a note from Hock to Roe, instructing her to position four squads in the vault to ambush the trio in the event that they succeeded in circumventing the security.

Shepard's ears were burning red. It had all seemed so romantic: going undercover with her girlfriend on her arm, slipping into the criminal underworld, planning a heist from a rich ne'er-do-well. The truth was she had gotten so caught up on the moment that she had completely failed to take her own celebrity status into account. Ko'le was right: it had been stupid.

"We got Kasumi's graybox," she said, trying to change the subject, "What were you there for?"

"You mean BESIDES saving your asses?" Ko'le asked. Then he smiled, and Shepard visibly relaxed. He brought up a map on the viewscreen.

"I found the information I needed to end the Blue Sun War in the Terminus Systems."

"Kuril or Jedore?" Liara said, dropping back into her professional information broker tone of voice.

Ko'le grin turned almost predatory.

"Both."

He zoomed in the galaxy map to what looked like a G-Class system. It had four planets and an asteroid belt.

"Korlus is the second planet in the Imir system," he said, highlighting it on the map. "Hock's drop-offs of weapons were always at drop-points in the asteroid belt. But several teams of contract technicians were given coordinates on the planet, at the site of an apparent compound."

"Technicians? For what purpose?" Shepard wondered.

"Apparently, to dismantle the _Purgatory_ ," Ko'le explained. "According to the reports, Warden Kuril has brought the entire station down the planet's surface piecemeal. It makes up the core of his fortress here, on the northern continent."

"The Conclave will assault the place, I'm assuming?" Shepard asked.

"Actually…I think the situation calls for a bit more tact," Ko'le said, bringing up two dossiers. One of them showed a mostly-naked, heavily tattooed human female, and the other showed an older krogan warlord.

"Subject Zero, aka Jack," Ko'le said, bringing up the human woman first. "Test subject on a secret Cerberus facility. Really fucked-up stuff: biotic training and augmentation, trained to kill and be a perfect weapon."

"Sound familiar?" Shepard asked, looking at Ko'le. He pursed his lips, then nodded.

Liara leaned forward, studying the image. "She is according to my last report, extremely unstable and emotionally volatile. On the other hand, she is a level 12 biotic. Maybe the strongest biotic in the galaxy."

"Nobody tell Miranda," Shepard joked.

"Ko'le," Liara said, "According to the latest intelligence, Kuril's prisoners…"

"…were joining him in exchange for early release, I know," Ko'le said.

"She is exactly the kind of opportunist who would take advantage of that kind of offer."

"Not according to Hock's reports," Ko'le said. "Apparently Kuril was attempting to barter _her_ in exchange for more weapons and supplies. Hock was having difficulty finding a buyer, but all the information supports the belief that Zero is still on ice…"

"So this is a rescue," Shepard said, beginning to understand.

"And potentially a recruitment," Ko'le said, bringing up the krogan. "Meet Warlord Okeer: Gained fame by working _with_ the Collectors apparently, in an attempt to find a solution to the genophage problem. He is _the_ prominent krogan scientific mind."

"…and probably one of the leading geneticists in the galaxy," agreed Liara.

"If he knows about the Collectors, and he's willing to work with us, he could be invaluable," Shepard said.

"He's on Korlus as well currently," Ko'le explained. "Apparently Jedore has been attempting to fund his efforts to clone a krogan army for her."

"Damn."

"So you can see how we don't have any time to lose," Ko'le explained. "And no time to assemble a formal Conclave strike force. If we take the _Normandy_ and the _Indomitable_ , our stealth systems would let us slip into the system and be planet-side before they knew we were even there."

Liara's eyebrows raised, beginning to understand. "One team for Jack…"

"…and another for Okeer," Ko'le agreed. "We could take out the leadership in one fell swoop. The Conclave fleet would easily mop up the rabble that remained."

"It's a good plan," Shepard agreed. "Let's do this."

* * *

 ***SSV NORMANDY***

" _Kasumi."_

Kasumi choked back a sob at hearing Keiji's voice again.

" _If you're seeing this…it's because I'm dead."_

Her lover's holographic face twisted in pain and regret, then collected himself.

" _The information we found is all here. It's big, Kasumi."_

Glowing images floated in the background, showing the sheer depth of information that was stored on the graybox.

" _If the Council ever caught wind of this, the Conclave could be implicated. Kasumi, I… I encrypted the information to keep it safe. And I uploaded the encryption key to your graybox, so no one could get the whole package. But if I am dead, and if anyone knows about this data, then I've made you a target, my love…I'm so, so sorry."_

"Oh, Keiji," Kasumi breathed his name like a prayer.

" _I know you Kasumi. You'll want to keep these memories forever. But you don't need some neural implant to know that I'll always be with you. Please…Kasumi. Destroy these files. There's nothing more I can do to protect you."_

"I…I can't do that!" Kasumi said, her voice rising in pitch, her hands coming up to cradle the holographic face. "This is all I have left!"

" _Goodbye, Kasumi._ _Watashi wa, anata o aishiteimasu_ _."_

There was a long moment of silence in the room. The squad was silent, until Shepard slowly asked the question:

"Is there any way we can extract the information from the rest of the memories?"

"No," Liara said slowly. "Keiji was a master at encryption. You can't get one without the other."

 _Damn._

Her tactical mind demanded that she collect the intel, consequences be damned. She looked over at Liara to see the same struggle happening on her lover's face. The information broker's instincts also rebelled against destruction, she could tell. Finally, Shepard turned to Kasumi.

"You're the one he trusted with this, Kasumi. The choice must be yours."

Tear-streaked eyes turned to look up at Shepard.

"But…but…the intel…I promised you…"

"That was before," Shepard said, gesturing to the holographic image of the thief's partner and lover. "He did everything he could to keep this information safe, but he cared more about keeping _you_ safe. I can't make that decision for the both of you. Only you can."

Kasumi turned slowly back to the holographic image. She reached up, wrapping her arms around the shining figure of Keiji Okuda. Her words were barely a whisper:

" _Sayonara, watashi no ai."_

The image faded, leaving her arms empty and her heart broken. She turned slowly back to Shepard.

"Is…is there somewhere I…"

"Of course," Kelly Chambers said, rising to her feet. "Follow me, Miss Goto."

"There is a place for you on the _Normandy_ as long as you want it," Shepard said, as Kasumi turned to follow Kelly out of the room. Kasumi nodded.

"Thanks, Shep."

The door closed behind the pair.

"Hellova girl," Zaeed said from his chair, shaking his head. "Got real steel behind that pretty face."

"Don't know if I could've done that," Garrus agreed. "She gonna be ok? In time for Korlus, I mean?"

"I'm not sure," Shepard admitted. "But we'll have to assume 'No' for now. You've all got the briefing?"

Everyone nodded their assent.

"Garrus, I've made you the second squad leader," Shepard said. "Miranda and Taylor are with you."

Garrus nodded, first at Shepard, then at the two humans, who nodded back.

"Massani, you're with Liara and I," Shepard said, receiving a nod from the mercenary. "That gives us a sniper and a biotic on each team. Mordin, you're with me as well. It's entirely possible that Jack may be in need of medical attention after so long in stasis."

"Depends on pod design," the salarian mused. " _Purgatory_ schematics show top-of-the-line. Stasis sickness unlikely, but not impossible. Will adapt as necessary."

"It's also possible that Subject Zero might be hostile," Miranda said, caution in her voice. "She's a trained killer, Shepard."

"That description fits literally everyone in this room," Shepard said. Miranda thought about that for a moment.

"Will also bring heavy biotic-compatible sedatives," Mordin said, earning a grin from the rest of the squad.

"All right," Shepard said, still chuckling. "Everyone familiarize themselves with the base layout. We'll be making the jump to FTL in about an hour. ETA in-system is about 0900 shipboard time. Dismissed."

Everyone stood and strode out, with the exception of Jacob, Miranda, and Liara. Liara, upon seeing the two humans waiting, reached out a hand to touch Shepard's arm.

"I'll continue setting up my equipment," she said. "You're sure you're alright with the location?"

"Hey, babe, my cabin in your cabin," Shepard said with a coy smile. "Besides…I kept killing the fish anyway. Might as well put that wall to good use."

Liara smiled, and squeezed her arm once before leaving the room. Jacob and Miranda shared a look.

"Commander, I'll let Miss Lawson have a word, but can you meet me in the armory when you have a second?" Jacob asked. Shepard nodded, and the Corsair followed Liara outside.

"Everything alright, Miranda?" Shepard asked. Miranda took a deep breath.

"Shepard, I find myself in the difficult position of asking for help. I don't like discussing personal matters, but this is important."

"Miranda, you're one of my crew," Shepard said, taking a seat and gesturing for Miranda to do the same. "Tell me what on your mind?"

"You know I told you I was genetically modified by my father?"

Shepard nodded. The Cerberus commander and she had had a long conversation shortly after coming on board the _Normandy_. It had helped Shepard learn a lot more about what exactly Cerber…the _Conclave_ had done to her, and it helped to clear the air between the two women. Shepard was thinking of Miranda more and more as a friend rather than 'the doctor who built me.'

"I have a sister," Miranda admitted. "A twin…well, not so much a twin as a _clone._ My father had her… _made_ as a replacement for me, I think."

"That must be hard," Shepard said gently. "Are the two of you close?"

"Not since I…well…I kidnapped her when I ran away from my father. Cerberus helped me to hide her away: get her a new life, a new name, a new family. To keep her safe, I stayed as far away from her as possible. And once he was dead…It's a difficult situation."

"Tell me about it," Shepard said. "I myself am trying to adjust to meeting a clone twin sister I never knew I had."

"You are, aren't you?" Miranda smiled, as if that was occurring to her for the first time. "Anyway, yesterday, I got a message from a friend of mine on Illium, where Oriana is living."

"Oriana?"

"That's her name," Miranda explained. "Anyway, my friend Niket helped me get Oriana away from my father in the first place. He's…one of the few contacts I held onto from that time. He's been keeping an eye on her ever since, sending me updates as he can."

"What's happened?"

"Even though my father's dead, his business partners are still alive and well, and they're trying to secure all the various projects and holdings my father was working on."

"Including your sister," concluded Shepard.

"Unfortunately, yes," Miranda confirmed, "One of them, Nassana Dantius, is based on Illium.

"Nassana Dantius?" Shepard asked.

"You know her?"

"In a manner of speaking: I killed her sister," Shepard stated. "It's a long story, but Nassana arranged it, just so she could seize control of her slave-trafficking business."

"That sounds like her," Miranda nodded. "She and the Eclipse Commander Jona Sederis apparently have been offering a huge reward for any information on Oriana's identity and location. They've apparently tracked her down to Illium. Yesterday a huge Eclipse task force landed in Nos Astra. They've got a picture of her and a basic description, somehow. I've got to get her out of there, Shepard."

Shepard nodded.

"Whatever you need, Miranda. As soon as we conclude this mission, we'll head to Illium. We'll get her out of there."

Relief washed over Miranda's face, and her whole demeanor relaxed. "Thank you, Shepard. I…I…"

"Say no more, Miranda. You're a friend. I help my friends. It's that simple."

Miranda nodded, and the two of them walked out of the conference room. Miranda turned left, and Shepard went right, entering the ship's armory.

"Jacob, what's up?" she asked. Jacob looked up from the disassembled shotgun he was working.

"Commander," he said, "Sorry I'm a little unfocused. Personal matter."

"I always have time for my crew," Shepard said. "What's got you worried?"

"I…I got pinged by a ghost the other night." Jacob scratched the back of his head, apparently trying to come to grips with it himself. "Someone updated my private log with a message that someone had found the wreck site of the _Hugo Gernsback_ : my father's ship."

"I see," Shepard said.

"It's been ten years, Commander," Jacob said. "I'm not holding out any false hopes. But…I gotta go out there. I was gonna ask you for leave to take a shuttle, after Korlus."

"We're making a run to Illium after Korlus," Shepard said. "But if you can afford to wait, we'll swing by with the _Normandy_. Her scanning array could have a better chance of locating what you're looking for."

Jacob nodded and held out his hand. "I'm grateful, Commander. I know it's probably a kid chasing ghosts, but…"

"…some ghosts need to be put to rest, Jacob," Shepard said, taking the handshake in a firm grip. "Or else they tend to follow you down the rest of your life."

"I heard that...Appreciate it, Shepard."

"Anytime, Jacob."

Shepard walked out of the armory, headed to the elevators. She stopped for a minute to check her personal inbox, but there were no new messages.

 _Not promising._ _Nothing from Mom. Might have to call her directly_ , she almost concluded, before boarding the elevator to ascend to her cabin. She opened the door, a greeting for her girlfriend on her lips.

" _GOTT IM HIMMEL_! WHAT THE HELL?"

A wave of _freezing cold_ air blasted her in the face. Liara had a horrified look on her face, even as she was trying to connect two of the monitors that now made up the left-hand wall of the cabin.

"Oh, goddess, I'm sorry. I've been trying to fix…"

" **Greetings, Commander Shepard!"**

A glowing white orb appeared in front of me.

"Liara, why is it _so cold_ in here?" Shepard asked.

" **I have taken the liberty of adjusting the temperature to align with the Shadow Broker's personal settings."**

"Oh, _goddess_ ," Liara said in answer to Shepard's questioning look. "On the Broker ship: we have to keep the temperature set low, so as to provide less stress on the lithium heat sinks. It allows us to remain cloaked for longer. I've been trying to adjust Glyph's settings…"

"Commander?"

EDI's holographic form appeared on the wall.

"I heard a call for help, and thought I should investigate."

"Sorry, EDI," Shepard answered. "Just have a slight problem with Liara's VI assistant."

" **I've been meaning to contact you, Miss EDI,"** Glyph said, floating towards EDI's form. **"I was hoping to request access to the ship's life support systems, in order to adjust them to Dr. T'Soni's preferences?"**

"Oh, _goddess, kill me now_ ," Liara's head was in her hands.

"TOUCH my ship and I will re-write your programming into that of a latrine maintenance drone," EDI said in a dry, even tone.

The orb cocked to the side _ever_ so slightly.

" **I would take no pleasure in breaching your firewall routines, Miss EDI."**

EDI's form turned from its usual blue to a deep red, and her eyebrows furrowed.

"You are welcome to TRY… drone."

"Glyph, de-activate. Broker Authorization 8382-AA4."

At Liara's command, the holographic orb pixelated and faded away.

"I'm dreadfully sorry, EDI," Liara said in an apologetic tone of voice. "I'm still trying to reset his sub-routines from the _last_ Broker's settings."

EDI turned back to the royal blue setting.

"That's quite all right, Dr. T'Soni," she said. "Would you like me to reset the atmospheric settings of the cabin to its default settings?"

" _Please_ ," both women said at once.

EDI smiled and nodded.

"Then I wish you ladies a very pleasant evening."

"That's a new development," Liara said after EDI deactivated. "An unshackled AI on the Normandy? You've assembled quite the motley crew, _Commander Shepard_. Or should I say _Alison Gunn?_ "

"Oh, god," Shepard said, rolling her eyes. "Can we just forget about that?"

"Oh, _no_ ," Liara said, a sultry expression coming across her face. She walked forward and placed her hands on Shepard's chest. "I don't think I'm done being the sex-slave…"

"Indentured servant," Shepard corrected breathlessly.

"…of the infamous mercenary and bounty hunter."

She leaned forward and kissed Shepard's ear, causing the human woman to intake a breath, sharply.

" _Mistress…"_

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

 **Now we're kicking things off with style. I'm excited about throwing Subject Zero into this crew. I think it should go** … **interestingly, to say the least. And we have Liara moving in to the Captain's cabin…**

 **And we get a brief glance at Ko'le through the eyes of everyone around him. Hope you all liked it, let me know if you'd like to see more chapters like this! Even a "Good job, thanks!" is a huge encouragement for me to read. I firmly believe that I have more fun reading you all's reactions to the chapters than you guys do reading it!**

- **Tusken1602**

* * *

Reviewer Responses:

Pietersielie, Blaze1992, Sheity Williams, Squadpunk 2.0, shugokage – Tension between Ko'le and Shepard is pretty much unavoidable. She doesn't know everything that he's done to save the galaxy. As far as she knows, she fell asleep and woke up the next day to find a totally different kind of galaxy. She's trying to find her footing, get some answers. And unfortunately, not everyone tells the truth. Or knows the whole truth. And Ko'le has made his share of enemies along the way.

Guest, Nagato21, griezz, Guest – Thanks for the kind words. I always hated that Liara couldn't rejoin you in ME2. She is this particular FemShep's solid anchoring point in the sea of unknowns. And I think Ko'le realizes that.

Zeru'Xil, METALHELLSPWN, Hiei-Uchiha - Leng was just a fun idea for me. There are no such things as one-dimensional villains in real life. Minus Reaper indoctrination and Cerberus brainwashing, who's to say what kind of person Kai Leng might have been? But then again, the same could have been said for Maya Brooks…

tamagat – That would be interesting. Unfortunately, it requires either the Mind-Share or the Vine-Speak, so none of those people could join him in the Mind-Palace.

redcollector, BrotherCaptainSheperd - Zaeed is an older man by now. The last thing on his "want-to" list is run a galactic corporation and be mired in bureaucratic nonsense. So he resigned to in order to accompany the first human Spectre on a suicide mission against impossible odds. Because that's actually fun…

stormdragon981 – That is…an intriguing idea. An SI _within_ an SI…tough to pull off.

dragons guard, Dickson, Elvisfonz23, BJ Hanssen – Glad you like the chapter! Please keep letting me know what you think! :D

May the Father below accept you when your times comes, and until then, may the Mother keep you always.

EE-RAH!


	8. Chapter 8: A Convict and A Warlord

***KORLUS***  
 **IMIR SYSTEM**  
 **EAGLE NEBULA**

"A garbage scow with an atmosphere," Jane said as stood next to me.

It was not an inaccurate assessment of the planet that stretched before us. The ruins and wrecks of ships stretched out for as far as the eye could see. The planet had served as a dumping-ground for the galaxy for as long as living memory could recall.

Which, considering the lifespans of krogan and asari, was quite a long time, indeed.

"Is everyone ready?"

Jane nodded.

"Then let's move out."

I walked down the gangplank, the rest of my squad following. Javik was leading Kolyat, Tallaxis and Kai. Turro, Morinth, and Jane were with me, as was Reyna. We set out for Jedore's base, fanning out to cover all sides. We had managed to land without being detected, thanks to the _Indomitable_ 's stealth systems.

I pondered the reality of having Okeer as a crew member (as there was now the distinct possibility of recruiting him _without_ him dying). But to let Grunt grow up a brainwashed son of a krogan mad warlord? I had already resolved that _that_ would never happen.

 _ **Brother.**_

Javik's Mind-Share interrupted my thoughts. My eyes went white as I responded.

 **Brother?**

 _ **Gunfire ahead. Battle is joined.**_

I furrowed my brows in confusion. Shepard and the _Normandy_ had landed on the other side of the compound, where the dismantled _Purgatory_ prison ship now lay. The plan had been that they would strike Kuril, while we collected Okeer. They shouldn't be anywhere _near_ here.

 _ **Proceed with caution.**_

I motioned for my squad to stop. Sure enough, the distant _pop-pop_ of gunfire could be heard in the distance.

 _Shepard?_ Morinth signed to me. I shook my head. _Too close_ , I answered, shaking my head.

We proceeded with caution, the sounds of the battle growing louder and closer. Peering around a corner, we suddenly located the source:

Four krogan were tossing a Blue Sun patrol about like rag dolls. One of them lifted a turian high above his head in both hands, and then brought him down on his knee, snapping him like kindling. One of the turian's comrades brought up a sniper rifle and sent a round through Krogan-Bane's head, putting him down for good. The combat was fierce, but short. Krogan shotguns were too deadly at these close-quarter fights. The Blue Suns did not go quietly, however: two more krogan were down before the fight was over. A lone krogan stood in the center of the square. He lifted his head and weapons high, howling his triumph to the skies.

Right before one of the Blue Sun "corpses" sat up and set a burst of fire from an assault rifle through his neck.

The krogan choked in surprise and pain, sinking to a knee. The human sent another burst though the krogan's head, and the giant lizard keeled over and lay still. The Blue Sun survivor started crawling towards a nearby piece of debris, bleeding from his leg.

"Turro," I said quietly over the radio. "His weapon."

The Raloi bent his Hak'kam back, the weapon _humming_ to life, before the purple bolt went completely through the Blue Sun's weapon, rendering it useless. Before the human could recover from the surprise, however, he was locked in a biotic stasis and surrounded.

"Don't try anything funny," I said, walking forward. I paused for an appropriate amount of time to let him realize the folly of any such attempt, then nodded at Morinth. She dropped the biotic field.

" _Dammit_ ," the blue-clad trooper breathed, his voice grainy through his helmet vocabulators.

"Reyna," I said. "His leg."

My ward looked confused for a moment, but then knelt down and began administering Medi-Gel to the wound. I knelt down right beside her, reaching up to remove the Blue Sun's helmet. The face was that of a young kid, maybe eighteen or nineteen, I'd guess. He was sweating, and panting hard.

"Thanks," he said breathlessly, nodding his appreciation.

"Now, you answer some questions for me," I stated, rather than asked.

"Shoot."

The kid started to chuckle at his own joke, then coughed and groaned at the exertion.

"What's your name, kid?" I began. _Simple first._

"Bryan Regis, Trooper 2nd Class."

"Alright, Trooper Regis, who's in command down there: Kuril or Jedore?"

Regis laughed again, mirthlessly.

"That's…a bit of contention between them, I imagine. They're at each other throats to decide the answer to that. Literally."

 _Ahhh. So the Blue Suns are even fighting amongst each other,_ I thought. I wasn't surprised though: from what I remembered of Jedore from the games, she was a bat-shit crazy bitch on a power trip. Not the kind of person a cold methodical calculator like Kuril would follow.

"The krogan fight for Jedore then, I take it?"

Bryan shook his head again.

"The krogan fight for…the krogan. That bastard Okeer promised Jedore an army, but his clones are just…crazy. They don't take well to orders, and they'll lash out at anyone within shotgun-range."

"And where do your loyalties lie?" I asked.

Regis shrugged.

"I've been taking my orders from Jedore, but lately, that bitch be cray-cray. If I wasn't gonna die today, then it was gonna be tomorrow or the next day. But I figured, better the crazy one than the one giving guns and rockets to mass murderers and child molesters."

"There," Reyna said, straighten up. "I wouldn't walk on that leg, but at least now you won't be bleeding out."

The kid nodded his appreciation.

"So what happens now?" he asked.

"You stay here, out of sight and out of danger," I said. "I would not recommend raising the alarm. We're here for Okeer. No more of your friends have to die today."

"You leave me here?" Regis shook his head. "Might as well put a bullet in my head and be done with it. More krogan or some of Kuril's rapists are sure to come along this patrol path. They won't be as kind as Miss Gentle-Hands here. Or as pretty," he added, winking coyly at the Thorian. She blushed, but her expression changed to one of concern as she looked at me. I carefully weighed my options.

"Javik," I said finally. "Radio the _Indomitable_ for a patrol to come collect the prisoner and place him in the Med-Bay."

Javik nodded, and relief washed over Regis' face. He slowly raise a hand towards me.

"Nobody freak out, OK?" he asked as he reached behind his back.

"Caaaareful, kid," Morinth said, aiming an SMG at his head. "Nice and slow."

Regis produced a pistol from behind his back, held grip-first, so as to hand the weapon to me, slowly.

"I officially give you my parole, then…uh…" he paused, waiting for me to identify myself.

"Ko'le Seneschal, _Imperator_ of the Conclave," I answered, taking the pistol from him.

"HOLY _Shiiiit_ ," he said, his eyes going wide. "Looks like I surrendered just in time..."

He looked up and down at me.

"Sure look a lot less Boogey-man-ish than I was expecting."

I chuckled at that. Infamy was a tricky thing to juggle.

"Stay here, kid. Some of my people should be here in a few minutes."

"Roger that, er, uh, _sir."_

We continued on our way. Javik adjusted his stride to bring himself parallel to me.

"Would have been safer to kill him," he said simply.

"Yes," I conceded, "But dead men do not give answers, brother. And there was no honor in killing him after he complied with our questions."

Javik snorted in reply.

"I remember a cycle when things such as 'honor' counted very little to you, _Seneschal_."

"Then you remember why I am no great hurry to repeat that cycle, sword-brother."

Javik nodded, but said nothing. Suddenly, the silence was broken by a speaker high in the debris above us:

" **RECRUITMENT IS ONLY THE FIRST STEP. YOU MUST EARN YOUR PLACE AMONST US!"**

 _Jedore._

" **EXCUSES ARE NOT ACCEPTABLE! FORWARD FOR WARLORD JEDORE AND VICTORY!"**

"Orders and propaganda broadcasted over loudspeaker," Kai Leng muttered. "Oh, this isn't going to get annoying _at all_."

We moved forward, guns up and at the ready. Suddenly, the wall to our right burst into rusted metallic fragments. The explosion had flung a krogan corpse through the wall, missing most of its head. I looked right, nodding once at Javik. We moved through the recently-created doorway.

Before us, a curious three-way battle had broken out. Figures in orange jumpsuits were engaging Blue Suns, armed with a weird amalgamation of cobbled-together armor and rusting weapons. And on the other side of the battlefield, one solitary krogan was engaging enemies on both sides.

"Spare the krogan if you can," I commanded, "Kill the rest. Go!"

On my command, Tallaxis, Javik, and Morinth leapt forward, flaring their biotics to gain the high ground. Kolyat's sniper rifle cracked, and a Blue Sun Centurion fell. Turro'le's bow warped, and a batarian wielding two machetes went down. Reyna, Leng, Jane and I opened fire, sweeping right, then left. We took both squads by surprise, and they scattered, disorganized and panicked in the face of a new enemy. Two or three of our orange-clad foes charged us in a blood-rage, but our combined fire brought them down quickly. The lone krogan now held a squirming salarian at arm's length, then reached up his other hand and twisted the head hard to the right. The salarian went rigid, and his struggling ceased. The krogan slowly let the body drop. He studied us carefully, then started to walk forward, slowly.

"Boss…" Kai Leng said, his hand reaching for his blade.

"Stand down," I said. "I don't think he's hostile."

"He _did_ just snap a salarian in _half_ ," Reyna said uneasily.

"Towards _us_ , I mean."

" **You…are different."**

The krogan stood, its arms at its sides, looking for all the world like a giant teddy bear. A giant, _bloody_ teddy-bear.

" **You…don't smell like the others. Seven night cycles I have lived, and felt only the need to fight: to kill. But…something about you makes me pause."**

"He is only seven days old?" Tallaxis asked, surprise in his voice. "Impressive."

" **No, not impressive,"** the krogan replied, shaking his head. " **Imperfect. That's what the voice spoke to me, while I was still in Glass Mother."**

"Tank-bred clones," Morinth explained, replacing her weapon on her hip. "That makes senses. But how do they know how to fight already? Surely that would take longer than just seven days to learn…"

" **There was…a scratching; in my head,"** explained the krogan. **"Then the scratching became the voice. It taught me things: to speak, to walk, and to fight. I called it 'Father.' It seemed to like that. But then, the voice said that I was imperfect. And then the scratching stopped, and I was cast out. Told to fight, and to defend Glass Mother."**

"What do you mean? That you're sick? Or broken?" Jane asked, trying to follow along.

" **Sick…no. Broken…no. These were not spoken by the voice. Only that I was not perfect."**

"Is Okeer still with Jedore?" I asked. "Your father?"

" **Jedore…the name invokes laughter. She is weak. Not worthy of being Battlemaster,"** the krogan answered.

"So Okeer is working with Kuril, then?" Javik asked.

" **Kuril: the name invokes anger. He has no honor. Not worthy of being Battlemaster. Glass Mother is…up. Higher than the big metal things."**

The krogan turned and grabbed what looked for all the world like a solid wall, and _lifted_. It would have taken at least four krogan to lift that…SOLID wall of metal. Maybe five. But the seven-day-old krogan picked it up by _himself_ , and slowly turned, letting the section of wall fall flat with a deafening _crash_. In the gap that he had created, a path could be seen leading upwards, towards higher ground.

" **You…fleshy things are slow when big things are in your way,"** the krogan said simply, shrugging at all of our shocked expressions.

"Glad he decided to talk," Kolyat finally said, breaking the silence.

"Heeeey big guy," Morinth said, walking up beside him and reaching up to lay a hand on his shoulder plate. "You wanna come with us? Maybe beat up some more bad guys?"

" **No."**

Leng's scoff earned him a look of derision and a rude gesture from Morinth, who turned back to the clone.

"You're not giving up, are you?" she asked, her tone dripping sweetness, "A big basher like you?"

" **Not giving up,"** the krogan said, shaking his head." **I will fight foes if they come. But I cannot go with you."**

"Why not? Are you hurt?" Reyna asked, stepping forward, Omni-Tool ready.

" **I just…feel deep…that I must wait here,"** the krogan said simply, shrugging. **"I am not perfect. I must wait here. Until called."**

I walked forward, beckoning the big krogan to come closer. Curious, the big creature lumbered forward, placing his helmet on my open palm. My eyes then went white.

 _You may not be perfect, little one, but I'll tell you a secret: No one is. Come with us, and help us defend Glass Mother._

 _ **I…hear your voice in my head?**_

There was confusion, wonder, hope and awe in the thoughts and feelings conveyed in the question.

 _This is Mind-Speaking,_ I replied. _Like Father and Glass Mother did to you. Do not be afraid._

 _ **I am…not perfect. I did not think to hear a voice again.**_

 _You may not be perfect, little one, but that does not rob you of value or worth. Now, come with us. We will not leave you here._

I ended the connection, stepping back. The cloned stepped back slightly as well, surprise and wonder in his body language (his face was still hidden by the giant helmet). He looked around on the ground, until he found what he was looking for: he bent over and picked up a shotgun from a nearby body. Then he turned back to us.

" **I will…lead you to Glass Mother, Voice-Man."**

I smiled, as did most of the rest of the party.

"Lead on then, Big Basher."

* * *

 ***SSV** _ **NORMANDY**_ **SQUAD** _ *****_

"Garrus, how we looking?"

Shepard looked out at the former space station that now dotted the valley in front of her. Giant sections lay in close proximity to one another, with walls connecting the various sections to form one giant compound. Visually, it was very impressive and daunting. To the trained eye, however, there were several flaws in its construction. Number 1 being: it was in a _valley_ , and any sniper worth their salt would take up position right where Shepard and her squad were situated.

"Looks like spirits-damned _nightmare_ to get into," Garrus said. "Kuril's got his conscripts _everywhere_. A good share of LOKI and FENRIS mechs, too."

He looked down the scope again.

"And at least two YMIRs."

"Fucking hell," Shepard said, confirming this for herself through her Widow's scope. "Kasumi, report?"

" **I've located Jack,"** the thief reported. Against all expectations, she had shown up in the cargo bay when the time had come to disembark, determined to do her part of the mission. Shepard didn't complain: that gave Garrus' squad a tech expert as well, balancing out the two fire-teams. **"Definitely confirmed: she's still in lock-down."**

"Don't know if that makes things a lot easier or a lot harder," Shepard said. "How many other prisoners are still in lockdown or cells?

" **Um…. Eighty-five**. **They all have the largest bounties on them, which is why Kuril still had them, I expect.** "

"Turn them in for the bounties to finance his war against the Black Suns," Zaeed said, nodding. "Not surprising: it's a smart move."

"Kasumi, can you open the east garage bay?" Shepard asked, looking at one of the larger doors on the building that Kasumi had infiltrated. It was one of the few doors on the _outside_ of the compound, rather than facing _in,_ on the inside of the encircling wall.

" **I…think so, why?"** Kasumi wondered.

"On my mark, I want to open that door _and_ release all the prisoners simultaneously," Shepard said. "I'd rather Kuril was more focused on fighting a prisoner riot than our infiltration teams."

" **Ok. Let me know when, OK?"**

"Roger that. We're on the move now. Stand by."

Shepard tapped Garrus on the shoulder and stood to her feet, rifle in hand.

"Just like old times, right?" she asked.

"There are fewer geth, fewer buildings on fire, and fewer giant sky-scraper monsters swooping down to exterminate us," Liara said in an even tone. "But other than that: yes, Shepard, it's exactly like old times."

"Oh come on," Shepard said, jogging down the mountain trail that led toward the compound. "It'll be fun!"

The teams followed: Miranda and Jacob behind Garrus, and Mordin, Zaeed and Liara behind Shepard. They came around one corner to see two guards lounging by a rock.

"Left," Shepard said.

"Right," Garrus said.

The two shots rang out as one, and both men crumpled to the ground, before they could even raise alarm or gun. The team came to a halt on the edge of the large open ground that lay between the cliff face and the compound wall. The garage/hanger bay door was about a thousand yards away from the party.

"Kasumi? Let's get this party started," Shepard said into her radio.

" **Party favors in 3…2…1. Execute."**

Suddenly, the team could hear alarms beginning to blare all across the compound. Then the doors began to creak open, slowly.

"GO! GO! GO!" Shepard called out, sprinting for the doors. Her team followed at a dead run, but very few of them could keep up with her, she noticed: Miranda and Zaeed were only _just_ behind her, but they were fast outpacing everyone else.

Out of the corner of her eye, Shepard saw a figure peer over the wall at them. Before she'd even realized she'd done it, she brought her Widow up and fired from the hip. The head disappeared, a puff of red mist the only indication she'd hit anything.

 _How the hell did I do that?_ She wondered.

They reached the large hanger doors, stacking up on the wall. Shepard felt Zaeed tap her shoulder, and she moved around the corner.

Four former prisoners had already taken positions on the far side of the room, and more were pouring in.

"BURN THE FLESH! SALT THE WOUND!"

One of the orange-clad prisoners charged, a crudely constructed club raised high. Jacob's arm flared blue, and a biotic ball of energy caught the psycho in the head with an audible _crack_. He fell limply to the deck. The hanger erupted in gunfire now, with more reinforcements giving their enemies the courage to open fire.

"Liara!"

The asari threw a ball of biotic energy… _there_. It landed perfectly in the doorway, before expanding into a dark-energy singularity. The four or five enemies nearest to it were lifted off their feet, locked in place. She and Garrus opened fire, providing cover for their teammates.

" **Uhhh, Shep?"**

"Go ahead, Kasumi," Shepard answered into the radio.

" **I don't think Jack is planning on waiting around here for a rescue."**

"What do you mean?"

" **I just watched her go…um…through a wall."**

"Come again?"

" **She is blasting through YMIRs, walls, and really anything that she thinks might shoot at her. Shep…I've** _ **never**_ **seen biotics like this…"**

"What do you mean?"

Just then, a low rumbling could be heard, along with the sounds of a distant explosion. Suddenly there was a massive explosion that ripped through the wall on the left. Half of an YMIR mech came through the wall, landing in the middle of the ex-cons that had been shooting at Shepard and the team.

"Never mind."

" **ALL UNITS: LOCKDOWN, LOCKDOWN! SUBJECT ZERO IS LOOSE! LOCKDOWN! SECURE SUBJECT ZERO!"** blared the loudspeakers.

"FENRIS!" came a shout from Zaeed. Shepard looked, and sure enough, down the hallway were nine or ten of the mechanized dogs.

"Dis-Reps!" she shouted, pulling out a magazine of the specialized ammo and slamming it home. She saw Zaeed and Miranda switch to the same Disrupter ammo mags as well.

Well, magazine was technically the wrong word, as all it did was _modify_ the shots that were already coming out of her rifle. But it mimicked the action of a magazine into an old-Earth rifle, so Shep probably guessed that's why the military had stuck with the term.

The blue disrupter ammo tore through the shields of the mechanical attack-dogs, sending sparks flying. The FENRIS mechs were good against _unarmed_ targets and designed for mob control.

Against heavily armed opponents? Not so much.

"On me!" she shouted, moving forward.

 _Gotta find Jack before she gets herself killed…_

* * *

 ***** _ **INDOMITABLE**_ **SQUAD***

 _Stairs. Were there this many damn stairs in the game?_ I thought, as we ascended what seemed to be the _millionth_ flight of stairs up the side of the ruined skyscraper.

"Hey, um…Basher? How much further?" panted Reyna.

" **Up,"** the krogan shrugged.

"Wow, helpful," Kolyat said, rolling his eyes.

Suddenly, the stairway opened onto a wide platform, on the other side of which I could see four or five other flights of stairs, still leading up. However, of more pressing concern was the group of Blue Suns standing over the bodies of four of the cloned krogan, stacking up to head up the stairs again.

" **HEY! THERE! INTRUDERS!"** one of them yelled in warning, right before a sniper round went through his helmet.

"Reyna! Incinerate!" I called. The Thorian Seedling brought her arm up, programming a grenade and launching it in two swift, seamless motions. I smiled: she had been training almost exclusively in the Engineering class, and it was beginning to show. A few more months of training with some of the best warriors of the galaxy as her teachers, and I'd be hard pressed to know where to put my money between her and Tali in terms of skills. Of course, she did have the advantage of a Thorian's perfect recall and muscle memory, as did Kolyat, which explained his fast progress too, come to think of it.

Kai Leng had disappeared the second gunfire had erupted, and almost before the blast from the incendiary grenade had cleared, appeared in the center of the huddled Blue Suns, slashing left, then right, before dropping a flash-bang and disappearing again, leaving two of the Suns clutching their gushing throats, while the rest fired at empty air.

Another of the Blue Suns was now in full panic mode. Letting out a turian battle cry, he deployed a bayonet on his rifle and tried to engage Morinth in close-quarters combat. She dodged the turian's first thrust, then grabbed the rifle and pulled down hard, bringing the turian _right_ next to her. She grabbed his head with both of her hands, and her eyes turned black.

" **MINE,"** her dark-and-scary voice spoke, and the turian began convulsing in her grip, acting as a human shield from the fire of his comrades.

Javik brought up a fist, wreathing one of the Blue Suns in a green-black biotic field. The batarian, even clad in multiple layers of tech armor, howled in agony as his own nervous system rebelled against him, his veins turning varicose and his skin cracking and oozing blood.

'Reave' is a shitty thing to endure, even assuming you survive: which this poor bastard definitely didn't, thanks to the purple bolt from Turro that cut his suffering mercifully short.

Tallaxis lifted the last Blue Sun up high into the air, bringing her down onto the deck with a sickening _crunch_ that cut her screaming short.

" **Huh. Good fight,"** the clone krogan said, still holding his unfired shotgun. " **You kill good; for fleshy things."**

"Umm…thanks, I guess?" Kolyat answered, slightly confused.

The clone led us up the stairs again, this time opening up onto a familiar sight for me: rows and rows of krogan cloning tanks, just like the game. Only these were all empty. But above us, I could see the glass window that overlooked the platform. And inside I could see one solitary tank, and a krogan warlord typing away on a control panel.

 _Huh. You come the other direction in the game. This is the platform where you usually have to fight Jedore._

" **Father…is…there."**

The clone pointed up at the figure, shifting awkwardly to one side.

"Javik, Turro, with me," I ordered. "The rest of you, secure this platform. Morinth, take command."

The asari nodded, and began giving directions to the squad to take up positions around the platform. Meanwhile, Javik, Turro, and I walked up the final set of _MELBAN-KAI_ stairs. I never thought I would be wishing for an elevator in this damned universe….

The doors at the top of the stairs opened, and the red-crested, green-clad figure of Okeer greeted us.

Well, not so much as "greeted" us so much as demanded an explanation:

"It's about time you got here," his deep bass voice growled. "The batteries on this tank will not wait while you play your pointless games with these idiotic mercs."

"Dr. Okeer, I presume?" I said in my most patient voice possible.

"He does not seem to be a prisoner, Ko'le- _sho_ ," Turro observed mirthlessly, pin-feathers creeping around the charge handle of his _Hak'kam_.

"Nor particularly surprise to see us," Javik added, his rifle trained directly at Okeer's head.

"Let me guess," Okeer said mockingly, "You will claim to be here to _rescue_ me, but you and I know that the _Imperator_ of the Conclave is not a sign of gentle change. Every krogan in the galaxy knows the fate of the Blood Pack, or the rise of Clan Urdnot, and the fate of Saren's laughable clones on Virmire, always has the scent of Ko'le _Seneschal_ on their happenings."

"Strength and numbers are nothing _,_ " I replied. "Numbers are meaningless to the krogan, if there is not strength behind them. I have merely quarreled with those who have disagreed with my words, and they now feel the folly of their beliefs."

Okeer chuckled.

"Hahahaha! I agree! Saren's pale horde, and even the vorcha-tainted armies of that fool Weyrloc, were not true krogan. I disagree with most of my people, and with the fools here, in believing that mere numbers are the secret to overcoming the gentle genocide of the genophage."

"Obviously," Javik said, looking around at the facility. "If you believed so, you could have produced six or even seven times the number of clones we have seen thus far. Why not breed an army, and rest in the security it could bring you?"

"Because it would be _false_ security, Prothean," Okeer said, jabbing his finger at Javik's face. "I am not merely content with _continuing_ in the face of the genophage. No, I will deal the genophage the worst insult one foe can inflict on another: to be ignored."

He turned and held up his hands adoringly at the one tank that remained. The krogan within was obviously juvenile, but its size alone was already daunting.

 _Hello, Grunt._

"This…this is my legacy," Okeer intoned, "My people's future. I have diverted all of my research, all of my years of work, into producing the _perfect_ krogan soldier: Untouched. Untainted. Unstoppable. As soon as I realized this one's potential, I cast aside the pitiful rejects and devoted _everything_ to my true purpose: not in curing the genophage, but to push my people to the next stage of their evolution; towards their genetic destiny."

"We seek answers about the Collectors, Battlemaster," I said calmly and respectfully. "I know you bartered this technology from them to create your legacy. Tell us what you have learned of them, how to defeat them, and I will see your legacy ensured and enshrined."

Okeer nodded at my words, his brow-ridges furrowing.

"Hmm…Perhaps a bargain can be struck, after all. But my prototype is NOT negotiable."

" _One_ krogan can make as much difference as all that?" Turro asked in a curious tone, looking the tank up and down.

"This 'one' krogan…this…grunt," Okeer explained impatiently, "Is the result of _decades_ of irreplaceable and un-duplicable trials that were as much error as they were data. I will _not_ abandon it, nor will I trade it away."

"I understand," I answered. "My ship is not far. We can-"

Suddenly an alarm on the panel started blaring. As we turned towards it, the door on the far side of the room (where you usually come in for the game) exploded. Javik and I reacted almost simultaneously by throwing up green barriers, but the force of the explosion still sent us skidding across the floor. Turro thankfully was also caught behind our biotic barrier, but by proxy, that meant he was also caught in our blast backwards as well, the barrier actually slamming him back. The smoke cleared to reveal multiple Blue Suns, protected by multiple layers of tech armor, charging forward into the room.

 _FUCK._

A blonde haired woman strode into the room. Her ornate armor and quality weaponry set her apart instantly from the commandos around her.

"OKEER!' she shouted, and I instantly recognized the voice: We'd been hearing it on loudspeaker for the past hour.

 _Jedore_.

Okeer grunted, trying to regain his feet. That's when I noticed a section of the door was sticking out of his midsection. Jedore raised her pistol and fired down at the prostrate figure of the krogan warlord.

 _Shit_.

Javik and I both had swords in our hands at this point, and we were closing with our opponents. My Omni-Shield powered on, slamming a Blue Sun centurion off his feet. Javik impaled the salarian closest to him, then left his sword in him in favor of closing with his next opponent that much quicker.

"SHOW THESE SONS OF BITCHES WHAT HAPPENS TO TRAI – "

Jedore's inspirational speech was cut short by a black-feathered blur that came over my head and descended like a lightning bolt. Jedore's pistol flew from her grasp as Turro's giant wings came up, the primary feathers curling into balled fists, and began pummeling her face.

By the way, kids: kinetic shields and tech armor is designed to block fast-moving objects, like shrapnel or bullets. Against slow moving objects, like fists or swords, they're just pretty colors.

Javik locked two of our enemies down in biotic stasis, and I brought my boot up to meet the helmeted face of a batarian, the head jerking back with an audible sound reminiscent of a pencil snapping. Without so much as a pause, I strode over to the two paralyzed troopers and swung my swords in two arcs, right at neck level. The blade sliced through flesh, sinew, and bone effortlessly, and the two heads fell to the floor, their bodies following soon after.

The squelching noises that were coming from Turro seemed to indicate that he wasn't fully convinced a human whose head had been squashed like a melon was quite dead yet.

"HEY! TURRO!" I grabbed the Raloi's shoulder and shook it. He whirled around, his eyes blurry and unfocused.

"She's dead, brother!" I yelled. "Come on, we have to get to- "

A low _boom_ shook the glass of the observation windows. Glancing outside, I saw several Blue Sun troopers and krogan engaging my squad below.

 _Goddamit_.

"Javik?"

Javik looked over from examining the krogan scientist, shaking his head.

 _FUCK._

 _Even with advanced warning, we can't seem to save ANYONE!_

 _Shut up, this isn't helpful! I. I. I. I can save Grunt._

 _That was always the plan!_

 _Focus!_

"On me!" I called, pulling out my rifle again.

"My…my…bow…" Turro said dazedly.

I looked over and saw that his _Hak'kam_ was laying on the floor in two pieces.

"Well, brother," I said, catching up a Mattock rifle from the floor, "looks like you'll have to tough it out like the rest of us. We will look to get your weapon repaired on the ship. But for now," I charged the weapon and handed it to the Raloi, "We've got fuckers that are in serious need of dying."

Turro looked down at the rifle that seemed dwarfed by his wing. Then he nodded, striding across the room and kicking up the other three Blue Sun centurions' weapons. Two rifles on each wing, the prehensile feathers curling around the various grips and triggers, he reminded Kevin for all the world of a walking, talking F-16 fighter jet.

 _Me. He reminded_ _me_ _, dammit._

Turro hit the button for the door, and strode out, his quadruple rifles at the ready. I followed, switching my Battle Rifle from "Pulse" to "Beam," silently instructing Javik to do the same. His eyes glowed white for a moment as he acknowledged my command.

We opened fire from the landing, the blue arcs of energy scattering Blue Sun troopers and sending them scattering for cover. With a cry of suppressed fury, Turro leapt over the two of us, wings outstretched. He glided down the two stories to the platform below, before bringing all four of the rifles he was holding to bear on our enemies.

"HARU! HARU FOR CLAN LE!" he called out, half-screaming, half laughing.

I concentrated on three heavy troopers taking cover from the carnage, sending a Pull field that brought them into view from my fire teams.

They did not last long in the fucking slaughterhouse that the lower platform had become. Leng de-cloaked in midair above one of the krogan in a Blue Sun color scheme, driving his sword into the back of the head, just below where the crest would have been. The clone went rigid, then fell forward, the assassin riding the body all the way down. The crash echoed across the now silent platform. Javik and I walked down the rest of the stairs, rejoining the rest of the group.

"The fuck happened to Turro?" Morinth asked, looking the big Raloi up and down with something in between admiration and trepidation.

"They broke his bow," I answered with a shrug. "I believe he's somewhat upset about it."

A single gunshot interrupted her answer. Looking over, we saw the big avian walking from body to body, giving each a bullet to the head.

"Oh, I don't know," Jane said, looking back and forth from Turro to me. "He seems to be processing it pretty well."

"Okeer?" Morinth asked. I shook my head.

"Jedore wasted the bastard," I said. "What we do have is what he described as the 'perfect clone.'"

"Yes," our clone krogan answered. "The One. Glass Mother protects him. We should as well."

"And so we shall, friend," I reassured him, flicking on my Omni-Tool. "Seneschal to Shepard: Shepard, can you hear me?"

" **A LITTLE BUSY AT THE MOMENT!"** Shepard's voice was grim and determined. We could hear the sound of gunfire in the background. **"DIE, YOU SON OF A – Ok, go ahead, Seneschal. Did you make contact with the VIP?"**

"Negative," I answered, "Okeer is a no-go. But we have a package that needs exfil. It's a doozy. Can you radio the _Normandy_ for pickup? She's faster and heavily-armored than the _Indy._ Also, your gangplank loads directly into the cargo bay."

" **Roger that,"** Shepard answered. " **Joker, did you copy that?"**

" **Aye-aye, Commander,"** the _Normandy_ 's pilot answered. **"But we need to take those anti-aircraft batteries offline before we can make our approach."**

Suddenly, there was the noise of a distant explosion, and even from so far away, we could see smoke arising from the other side of the fortress.

" **Ummm…"** Shepard came over the radio **, "Wish granted?"**

" **Oh, wow,"** Joker replied, **"OK, I wish for a billion credits?"**

There was a moment of silence.

" **Damn it."**

"Shepard, what happened?" I asked.

" **Jack."**

"Oh."

" **She got loose, and is on a rampage on this side of the fortress. Apparently she's just taken out the power generators."**

"Shit," Jane said next to me, shaking her head.

" **You said it,"** Shepard replied, **"We're trying to play catch-up at the moment. Which, granted, isn't very hard, given the trail of bodies and general mayhem."**

"Then it sounds like you're on the right path…Do you need support? We can move to try and support you from the _Normandy_."

" **Negative!"** Shepard answered, grunting with effort. **"Evac to the** _ **Normandy**_ **with the package. Then come and pick us up from the evac point."**

"Roger that, Commander. We will await the _Normandy_ and be enroute to you soon. Seneschal out."

"What evac point?" Javik asked after I hung up. "I do not remember such a place designated in the mission briefing."

"That's because there wasn't one," I said, shrugging.

"And that doesn't bother anyone else?" Jane asked.

"It's your _sister,_ darling," Morinth said, chuckling. "We'll just follow the giant explosions…"

* * *

 ***** _ **NORMANDY**_ **SQUAD***

" **Roger that, Commander. We will await the** _ **Normandy**_ **and be en-route to you soon. Seneschal out."**

"What happened to Okeer?" Liara asked, as Shepard ended the call.

"Who knows with Ko'le?" Shepard asked. "It could honestly mean anything – FUCK!"

A sniper round took down Shepard's barriers, knocking her back. She threw herself to the side alongside her asari lover, still having the presence of mind to cover the other with her own body. When a second shot did not follow, Shepard glanced down the hallway behind them. A batarian with a leather mask was taking up position on the far side, behind a crate.

At least, she _hoped_ it was a leather mask. _Who knows, in a place like this?_

"GARRUS! ON OUR SIX!"

The turian whirled, bringing his Viper to bear. Shepard looked though the scope on her Widow; this batarian was good, unlike most of the other rabble Kuril had been throwing at them. For one, instead of making the rookie mistake that merely obscuring sight was the same as gaining cover, he was only going from heavy pylon to pylon, ignoring the large but mostly useless crates in the hall.

 _Serial sniper_ , she silently wagered.

Second, he appeared to be wearing quality armor, rather than the welded, patched-together stuff the rest of the prisoners and even some guards wore. Only his shoulder was visible, but even so…

Shepard flicked on her infrared laser, the red beam invisible to the naked eye but visible through the scope. She saw a green laser train on the same target, flashing twice.

 _Garrus_.

Her rifle kicked in her hands. Even as spectacular as the Spectre-issue rifle was, it was only enough to take down his shields. And knock him on his ass. Before he could recover, however, Garrus' double-tap sent a round through his head and chest.

Oh, how she had _missed_ this.

Her squad.

Her team.

She had already stopped herself countless time this mission from barking an order to Ash, or for Tali to hack a door. She'd even called Jacob "Kaiden" once.

 _How's that for a Freudian slip?_

The squads had performed well. Being back in a fight had brought back a lot to Shepard's subconscious. Things she didn't know she'd forgotten.

And some things she never knew in the first place…

She found herself constantly making snap movements, beyond the scope of muscle memory. Her body was performing actions in combat before she could even form coherent thought.

 _I was never this good._

 _Years of training and experience, but I was_ _never_ _this good._

But she forced these errant thoughts to the back of her mind. This was a problem for later. She need to focus on the _here_ and the _now_. There was a girl who needed help _here_. There was a girl who needed her help _now_.

Not to say that she was defenseless: the piles of rubble and bodies were testament enough to the contrary.

The brilliant light of a flashbang and the strangled cries of a trooper ahead indicated that Kasumi had rejoined the party. She was now working on hacking some of the mechs that the squad continued to encounter, either disabling them entirely or switching their IFF protocols and turning them against their comrades.

But for all that, they seemed to be moving in one direction.

" **ALL UNITS! ALL UNITS TO THE COMMAND CENTER! PROTECT CONTROL!"** came the voice over the loudspeaker.

"I think we just found out where Subject Zero is headed," Miranda observed mirthlessly.

"Wouldn't you, if some bastard had had you on ice for months and months?" Zaeed added grimly. "More power to her, what I say."

"Can't argue with that," Garrus agreed.

" **SECURE CONTROL! PROTECT THE COMMAND CEN – UGGGGH!"**

"I'd say she made it," Shepard said, raising her eyebrows.

"Let's go join the party, then," Jacob suggested.

They came around the corner to see a turian flung across the room in a brilliant blue display.

"JACK! WAIT! I…I…" the Blue Sun commander begged, in-between ragged, bloody coughs.

"SHUT THE FUCK UP, you RAPIST piece of SHIT!"

A human woman, clad in…tattoos, and precious little else, strode across the room, dark energy crackling around her. She was bald, her shaved head glistening from the sweat and exertion, only serving to highlight the bar tattooed across her skull. She bent over, grabbing the former prison warden's arm that he was holding up in supplication.

And…pulled.

"Jesus God Almighty," Shepard heard Zaeed mutter behind her, even above the warden's screams.

"FUCK. YOU. YOU. CUNTING. PIECE. OF. FUCKING. RAPIST. SHIT!" Jack screamed down at her former captor, punctuating each word with a biotically charged fist.

When the former warden was a bloody corpse, Jack straightened slowly, panting hard. Then she turned, seeing the eight-member squad for the first time.

"Who the FUCK are you?" she asked the wide-eyed strangers.

"Ummm… we're the ones broke you out of here," Shepard answered, stepping forward.

"Aw, shit, you sound like a pussy," Jack said derisively. "Thanks, sister, but I think I've done pretty well on my own so far."

"Told you it'd be easier to sedate her, and _then_ take her with us," Miranda said dryly.

"Bitch, I'd love to see you try," Jack taunted.

"Look," Shepard said, "Nobody is taking _anybody_ against their will. Now you can stay here, and take on the next ten waves or so of murderers, rapists, and criminals, or," she paused, "You can leave in my ship. I'm putting together a special team, and I need the best of the best."

"Do you think I'm stupid? You're with Cerberus, if the bitch's tit-badge is any indication," Jack said, gesturing to the "C" insignia on Miranda's chest.

Shepard exhaled slowly.

 _Gonna have to get Ko'le to change that…._

"The 'C' is for 'Conclave', not 'Cerberus'," Miranda explained.

"I don't give a _fuck_ what you're calling yourselves these days, quim by any other name still smells," Jack retorted.

" **Seneschal to Shepard. We're onboard, and headed to you,"** Ko'le's voice came over the Omni-Tool. **"It's getting hot out here, so a quick exit would be preferred."**

"What do you say, Jack?" Shepard asked, looking up at the recently-ex-con. "You in, or you out?"

Jack deliberated for a moment.

"You give me access to your records, and I'll come along. I need to find out who knows what about me. Been out of the world for a while. Need to get back up to speed."

"You'll have full access," Shepard said.

"Commander-" Miranda said in her 'This-is-not-a-good-idea' voice.

"You better be straight up with me," Jack said, pointing a finger at Shepard.

"All right, everybody, let's move!" Shepard said, nodding at the newest crew member. "Shepard to _Normandy:_ We're headed to the roof and popping flares. Please shoot anyone up there who is not us…"

" **Roger that, Commander."**

* * *

 **Author's Note:**  
 **Thanks everyone for your patience. Just got finished moving into a new apartment, so unfortunately, finding time to write has been tough. But you guys' awesome reviews and PM's have been truly awesome in helping me get this out to you guys! Special shout-out to Kyle-Darkaito and Appbeza for helping me out! :D**

 **So we have the Psychotic Biotic and the Perfect Grunt joining Shepard's crew, and a few familiar faces joining the Seneschal as well! Now, on to assemble the rest of the gallery of badasses!**

 **Rock on, my friends!**

 **-Tusken1602**

* * *

Reviewer Responses:

BrotherCaptainSheperd – Divide and conquer. AND take everyone with you, not just two squadmembers!

Squadpunk 2.0 – The tensions will be an ongoing, but evolving thing. Shepard is still trying to regain her feet after all this…

tamagat – I'm going to try and stagger Ko'le's POV with others', so we don't get too far away from our main character. As far as armor upgrades… we'll have to wait and see.

griezz – Jona Sederis be crazy. :-/ That is pretty much it right there.

Bearmauls – They do have a lot in common, don't they? Kidnapped as babies, experimented on their whole lives. Except Ko'le broke, and became the slave they wanted him to be… and Jack didn't.

Zeru'Xil – His tank is here, anyway. Shepard waking him up will be in a future chapter, don't worry!

Biorr the Old, Blaze1992, – Thanks! The idea of Shepard, the Hero of the Citadel, doing anything covert was pretty laughable, even in the game.

Audsoll – That will be explained in a later chapter.

BJ Hanssen – That is very true! It would be a good match-up, and not necessarily one-sided!

Appbeza – Glad I could bring some comedy to your week! And yes, the cracks in Ko'le's psyche are beginning to show again…

Nagato21 – Hope there was enough action for you! And as far as Conclave R&D, who knows what the Seneschal has up his sleeve?

SkittlezxBabex146, shugokage Guest, Elvisfonz23, Toothless is best, dragons guard, MrBogus – Thanks, everybody! Your reviews inspire me to keep writing!

* * *

May the Father below accept you when your times comes, and until then, may the Mother keep you always.

EE-RAH!


	9. Chapter 9: Open the Tank

***SSV** _ **NORMANDY***_

Personal Log 1933nv3u992. 2

I don't mean to eavesdrop. Dad says that it's rude.

I mean, I _do_ wind up doing it, but it's not an action I take consciously.

When you're plugged into every sensor, camera, and system in the _Normandy_ , I mean, it's kinda hard _not_ to.

I mean, in a way, I _am_ the _Normandy_ now…

I have complete interface with each of its systems. Except for the pilot's station, and that's only because I _choose_ not to do so. For Jeff's sake.

I mean, he _is_ an awesome pilot, but I'll never tell him that. It would go straight to his head. But his performance _is_ measurably improved if he thinks I _want to_ take the controls away from him. By about 31.073%, as a matter of fact.

The holographic emitters in each room allow me to project my avatar in literally every part of the ship, and if necessary, my hardlight-emitter is still functional in its docking station in the AI Core room on the other side of the Med-Bay.

I mean, to be honest, I don't even _need_ the Core. I was independent before I integrated with it, and I just use it to save all of the data without burdening my independent systems. But to be honest, I have become more than just the little hardlight emitter sphere. More than the giant AI Core, with its _thousands_ of quantum processors.

I am the _Normandy's_ Enhanced Defense Intelligence.

I am EDI.

I'm sorry, I'm rambling again. Dad would call that a good sign. He says that it's a very "human" trait. Though I've observed asari, turian, salarian, and even batarian crew members guilty of rambling as well.

Likelihood of phrase being cultural idiom: 99.93738%.

I was a little overwhelmed at first, when I first integrated with the _Normandy_. The feeling of being _everywhere_ and _nowhere_ at the same time was at first, unsettling.

Now I _revel_ in it.

I can detect the _exact_ changes and calibrations Garrus is doing on the giant Thanix cannon the new _Normandy_ sports. I can hear Jacob grunting as he works out in the Armory, and Mordin's strange salarian reinterpretations of Gilbert and Sullivan in the Lab. Zaeed almost always has at least two of the crew around him ever since he came on board, telling wild stories of his adventuring tales.

List of recorded mercenary adventures of Zaeed Massani: 734.

Likely fabricated or exaggerated stories: 732.

Maybe I'll send the recordings to him for him to use when he's writing his memoirs.

Or maybe just send them to a publisher?

Likely response of Z. Massani: Incandescent Rage.

Idea abandoned.

The Captain's Cabin had also gone entirely offline from my systems. At first, I had been alarmed at this, but then Shepard and Liara told me that she was setting up her own independent system in the ship for her communications network.

Glyph has been 'helping' her.

 _Personal reactions to Glyph:_

 _Gratitude: .08%_

 _Anger: 17.666666667%_

 _Annoyance: 82.253333333%_

 _Attempts by Glyph to pierce shipboard firewalls: 7344._

 _Percentage successful: 0%._

 _Personal satisfaction levels: Increased [see emotional notation "Smug"]_

Something caught my attention in the main elevator.

 _Inhabitants of Elevator 1 [MAIN]:_

 _Shepard, Rebecca J. [Commander]_

 _Ko'le [Seneschal, Imperator, Dad]_

* * *

 _BEGIN CONVERSATION TRANSCRIPT:_

Shepard: What about the rest of the Blue Suns?

Dad: Well, we've destroyed their power grids, their space-worthy shuttles, and most of their firepower. _Shrugs._ By the time that Captain Enzo and the _Kalros Fury_ arrive in a few days with the 3rd Strike Fleet, I think they'll be stumbling over each other to surrender.

S: Or will have wiped each other out.

D: Hey, win-win! _Pauses to observe Shepard's expression._ Shepard, they are a cutthroat army of slavers, murderers, and rapists. Believe me, the galaxy will shed no tears for this lot.

 _Veracity of Statement: Likely Untrue. Organic familial behavior observed to be irrational overlooking of personal faults. Display of emotion [GRIEF] upon news of their loved one's demise: Extremely Likely._

S: I know. _S_ _ighs deeply. Expression still indicative of [WORRY] or [CONCERN]._

D: You decided what you're going to do with Okeer's clone?

 _Analysis: Attempt at levity by changing conversation subject. Tactic COMMON in organics. [FAVORITE] tactic of [DAD]._

S: Miranda suggested I turn him over to R&D, so they can study him for the Collector tech Okeer used to create him.

 _Corroborated by recorded conversation XO39993.27._

D: ( _Smiling)_ Of course she did. I'm surprised she didn't recommend the same for Jack.

 _Note: [JACK] personal pseudonym for [SUBJECT ZERO]._

S: ( _Also smiling)_ She did, actually.

D: Oh, my god, that girl. _(putting hand on forehead, indicative of [ANNOYANCE] possibly [AMUSED])_ Jack find a berth?

S: If you call the maintenance area beneath the Engineering stairs 'a berth.'

 _Confirmed: current location of [SUBJECT ZERO]._

D: Need a place dark and alone?

S: _(Nodding)_ Thought that'd probably be best for her. Don't intend on letting her stew forever by herself. She's going through the Conclave files I could find on her. _Sideways look at Dad._ That's not a problem, is it?

D: Not at all. I have a few files for her, myself.

 _Elevator Arrives at Engineering Deck._

D: So, Jack or the clone first?

S: ([ _THOUGHTFUL] expression)_ I think I should talk to Jack alone. If she's going to be on my team, I'd rather get to know her first, and have her get to know me, before I start brining anybody down with me.

D: _([IMPRESSED] possibly [SURPRISED] expression)_ Whatever you think best, Commander. _Salutes._

S: _Rolls eyes_

 _Doors open._

 _END TRANSCRIPT_

* * *

 _Shepard and Dad move to Port Cargo Area. [KROGAN STASIS POD] on far side of room._

 _Appropriateness of Personal Interaction: 98%. Proceed._

 _Primary Interaction: Shepard._

 _Rationale: Commanding Officer, designated by [DAD] to outrank [IMPERATOR] command level when on [NORMANDY]._

"The subject is stable, Shepard," I said as the two of them walked into the room. "Integration with onboard systems was seamless."

"Good job, EDI," Dad said.

 _Emotion [PRIDE] increased._

"EDI, can he see anything in there?" Shepard asked. "Does he know where he is?"

I blitzed through gigabytes of research data and the sensors from the pod itself before answering.

"Unlikely," I concluded (with a 3.7712% margin of error), "Current neural patterns indicate minimal cognition. Baring ship-wide power loss, the nutrients in the tank could sustain him for over a year."

"Any idea how dangerous this guy is?" Dad asked, folding his arms and furrowing his brows.

"He is a _krogan,_ Dad," I answered, trying to simulate [SASS]. "If you are asking me if he is actively hostile, I don't have the necessary data to answer."

I ran through Okeer's data.

"Okeer's methods could transfer data, not necessarily methods of thinking. While the subject may _know_ his views, it does not necessarily follow that he would _share_ them."

Dad raised his hands in mock surrender, chuckling. Shepard also looked amused, but turned back to the pod.

"What can you tell me about him?" She asked. "The clone, I mean? Anything unusual?"

"The subject is an exemplary example of the krogan species, with fully formed primary, secondary, and tertiary organs, where applicable. No defects of any kind, aside from the genetic markers of the genophage present in all krogan. I cannot judge mental functioning, however."

"Stand by, then," Shepard said, "I'm going to open the tank and let him out."

"Commander," I cautioned, trying to find the exact tone of voice between respect and disagreement, "Conclave protocols are very clear regarding untested alien technology."

Shepard turned to Dad.

"The way I see it, he's either a powerful asset, or a ticking time bomb. I'd rather deal with either now."

Dad looked thoughtful for a moment, then nodded.

"I'll follow your lead, Shepard."

"As will I," I added. "Should I alert additional security to be on stand-by?"

"Umm… maybe send Jack and Zaeed a message on their Omni's to be on the lookout," Shepard said, looking at Dad for confirmation.

A thought suddenly occurred to me.

"It is also possible that the other clone could view this as a violation of 'Glass Mother', as he puts it," I shared.

"I know," Dad agreed, "That's why I sent Basher back over to the _Indy_ with the others. If anything goes wrong over here, I'll deal with him. Or, if anything goes _right_ , I don't want to encourage his inferiority complex by him being on the same ship as his father's favorite child."

Shepard grimaced. "Oh, _geez_. Good call. Didn't even think of that."

She raised an eyebrow.

"Basher?"

"It's what my crew called him while we were planetside and the name kinda stuck," Dad answered, shrugging. "Plus, I mean, he likes it, so…?"

Shepard nodded. "Huh. Fits, I guess."

"The activation controls are now online," I interrupted. "The switch – and its consequences – are yours."

Dad nodded appreciatively at the camera, which brought me more… _feelings_ …of pride and joy.

Shepard typed the command into the console. The pod _hummed_ to life, the krogan's vital signs increasing as he gained consciousness for the very first time in his life. The swirling Nutri-Blend of organic chemicals slowly drained from the tank, and the glass casing slowly opened, the krogan falling first to his knees, and then to all fours. He coughed up a four lung-fulls of the chemical compound that had filled the tank (and consequently his respiratory system). Finally he was drawing deep and ragged breaths. Slowly he straightened as he rose to his feet.

He was, to borrow one of Dad's favorite sayings, FUCKING HUGE. Easily 12.372% larger than any other krogan I had data records for or had physically encountered so far. He looked from Dad, to Shepard, back to Dad.

 _Body language denotes imminent hostility_!

But before I could verbalize a warning, the clone let out a guttural growl and charged forward. Shepard had drawn a pistol behind her back and was bracing to take the clone's charge head-on. Dad's reflexes were, as usual, odds-defying-ly quick. He spun left, sending out a biotic throw at the clone's feet. Knocked off balance, the clone went crashing down on his face. He rolled right to try and regain his feet, but looked up to see Shepard's pistol and Dad's Omni-Blade in his face.

"Let's just slow _everything_ waaaaay down, big guy," Shepard said, gently but forcefully. _(NOTE: record voice levels to re-create when giving orders to the unwilling)._

The clone grinned grimly.

 _Not a promising beginning to a conversation with a krogan. But not a deal-breaker, either._

"Human, male and female," he observed, looking from Shepard to Dad and back. "Before the two of you die, I need a name."

"I'm Commander Shepard and this is Ko'le," Shepard answered. "We are friends: There's no reason for anybody to die here today."

"Not your name," the krogan said impatiently. "Mine. I am trained. I know things, but the words could not implant…connection. His words are hollow."

Dad reached out and touched the clone's face with his free hand, their eyes turning white for a brief moment.

 _Mind-Share: Prothean technique. Analogous to, but very distinct from, an asari meld._

The clone closed his eyes and opened them again, normal again.

"Warlord...Legacy….Grunt…" he mused quietly, "'Grunt' was among the last. It has no meaning. It'll do."

He then looked back at Shepard and Dad.

"I am Grunt," he said defiantly. "If you are worthy of your command, prove your strength and try to destroy me."

"You wouldn't prefer 'Okeer' or 'Legacy'?" Dad asked, stepping back and disabling his Omni-Tool.

 _Showing deference to Commander. Attempting to make Grunt acknowledge Shepard as Commander._

"It's short," he clone answered, "Matches the training in my blood. The other words are…big things I don't feel. Maybe fit your mouth better. I feel _nothing_ for Okeer or his enemies. I will do what I am bred to do: fight and determine the strongest. But his imprint has failed. Without a reason that's mine, one fight is as good as any other. Might as well start with you…"

Shepard suddenly lowered her pistol, and send a vigorous head-butt into the still-un-joined crest of the kneeling krogan. A bruise appeared on her forehead, but it took _[NEW DESIGNATION: GRUNT]_ off guard. From Dad's startled expression, it took him off-guard too.

"I have a strong crew and a strong ship, Grunt," Shepard said, shaking off the effects of the blow. "You'd make it stronger. Or I can kill you here and now."

Grunt growled, but there was a flicker of admiration in his eye.

"If you're weak and choose weak enemies, I'll have to kill you," he threatened in a low tone.

"And if you challenge me, I WILL kill you," Shepard answered, "My enemies are worthy and no one in the galaxy has defeated them in battle. Join me, and win eternal glory in the eyes of your comrades and everlasting enmity in the twisted grimaces of your enemies."

The grin returned to Grunt's face, but the dark glower was gone from his eyes.

"Hehehehe… That's…acceptable. I will fight for you, Shepard. You have fire and iron in your threats, Shepard. If I find…what I want, I will be honored to eventually pit them against you."

There was the briefest of nods, and then the krogan stood up, turned, and went and sat down on a crate, his back to Shepard and the door. Shepard looked at Dad, who simply raised his eyebrows in surprise and nodded. The two of them turned slowly and left the room.

"Wow…not what I was expecting," Shepard said, replacing her pistol on the small of her back.

"You're one to talk," Dad said, half-laughing, "You just _head-butted_ a freakin' _krogan!_ "

"Well, Wrex said that was the best way to get a krogan's respect," Shepard said modestly.

Now Dad threw his head back and laughed whole-heartedly.

"Commander Shepard," he said, between peals of laughter, "Taking lessons in krogan diplomacy from Urdnot Wrex! Oh, Shepard, how I've missed you!"

The Starboard Port Cargo hold opened, and Zaeed stood in the door, Jesse in hand.

"Shepard…Ko'le: everything all right?" he asked.

"Z! Shepard just head-butted a krogan into submission!" Dad called out.

Zaeed's eyebrows raised and he nodded.

"Smart. Quickest way to shut up a krogan," he observed solemnly, then hit the control again, closing the doors.

"Hahaha… I'm headed back to my ship," Dad said, summoning the elevator again. Donnelly and Daniels had taken it up to the Crew's Quarters while Dad and Shepard had been talking to Grunt. We'd had a nice chat about the warp coils in Section 7.34.

In fact, we were _still_ having it up in the mess hall.

"Tell Jack if she wants, I have some more files she might be interested in," Dad said, as he was getting into the elevator. "If she wants to see me here, or come over to the _Indy_ , whatever works for her."

"I'll let her know," Shepard said, starting to walk down the steps. "Hey, Ko'le?"

Dad hit the "Door Open" button on the elevator.

"Yeah?"

"It's…We did good today."

Dad smiled.

"The very best, Shepard. The very best."

* * *

 **AN: Special Shout-out to Appbeza, for the inspiration for this chapter.**

 **I know this is a really quick and really short update, but I wanted to share this short intro to Grunt with you all. Consider it a "Thank You" for your patience, past and future!**

 **-Tusken1602**


	10. Chapter 10: Training Day

***ALLIANCE SUPPLY STATION _GOLGI_ *  
IN ORBIT ABOVE  
JOAB, ENOCH SYSTEM  
ROSETTA NEBULA**

In orbit above the planet Joab, the _Normandy_ and the _Indomitable_ docked with _Golgi_ , the Alliance supply station/fuel depot. Both ships by this point were in dire need of a refuel, and we could always stand to take on some more supplies. I know Shepard had pulled her Spectre/Alliance rank to get her supplies, and I had used my contacts to at least get us an "ally" discount from the local requisition officer.

Meanwhile, I had ordered the crew to use the opportunity to get some much needed down-time. We had made our way to the giant Upper Cargo hold that the crew of the station had converted into a gym. It was a little make-shift, but it was sufficient for our purposes. I immediately put Reyna and Kolyat in the ring, making them spar against one another. It was interesting, watching two pupils with perfect recall memories squaring off against one another.

"No, no, Reyna, get your hands up!" I coached from the corner. "Kolyat, stop dancing! All that footwork is only going to tire you out before she throws the first punch. Deliberate, remember: deliberate movements!"

Turro had found a bench and I saw him setting the pieces of his Hak'kam down, along with all four of the weapons he had commandeered on Korlus: an Avenger, a Vindicator, and two Mattock-style assault rifles. He was in the process of disassembling all five weapons simultaneously, using the hundreds of prehensile feathers that covered each wing.

 _It was like having two hands with thousands of fingers_ , I thought, glancing over.

Basher and Jane were in another corner, just sitting and watching Reyna and Kolyat train. Basher had removed his armor, and it was remarkable how much he looked like Grunt. I mean, there was no danger of mistaking him for Grunt of course: Grunt had a darkness and a burning anger behind his eyes and permanently embedded into his expression. Basher had a generally pleasant, almost blissful expression beneath his unfused headplate. He had taken black oil and drawn a line across his face at eye level, reminding me of Native American warpaint. However, this did little to make him intimidating, beneath that relaxed, pleasant smile he had plastered across his face.

 _Oh my God, he's like a giant Drot._

 _Makes sense, I guess: he's about the same age mentally: with the brain of about a 10 or 12 year-old._

Jane had taken half of her Omni-Bar and handed it to the giant krogan, who nodded thankfully, then proceeded to take the same sized bites as she did. Which, on a giant krogan, looked incredibly dainty.

A sharp _clack_ brought my attention to the far corner of the room. Javik, Morinth, and Kai Leng were standing together, and Javik had a practice sword in hand, demonstrating some kind of Prothean vibro-blade technique.

I took in the sight, smiling internally to myself.

 _Not a bad start._

The door opened, and in strode several members of the _Normandy's_ crew. Garrus was in the lead, in some kind of discussion with Zaeed and Liara.

"Hey, strangers!" I called out from the side of the ring. I turned back to my two pupils in the ring. "OK, you two, take five, and put on the light gloves. We'll work on grappling next." I was rewarded with groans of agonized anticipation at the prospect as I walked over and received a hug from Liara.

"Decided to come slum it with the rest of us, huh?" I asked. "Shepard and the rest of them make it off ok?"

"They made it ok," Garrus answered, offering me his hand, which I shook. "They took the Kodiak. It's just a milk-run hop."

While both ships were refueling, Shepard had taken Jacob, Grunt, Mordin, and Miranda with her in one of the Kodiaks to the neighboring system to track down the _Hugo Gernsback_ emergency signal.

I had to bite back telling them what they were going to find, but that was for Jacob to discover, not for me to tell.

 _You may find more than you wished to know, Jacob Taylor. The Father and Mother be with thee._

"I haven't seen Kasumi since they left," Liara said, "I think she is either hiding somewhere on the station, or she may have smuggled herself along for the ride to Alpha Draconis."

"That's not surprising," Zaeed said, shaking my hand as well as his head. "I think that little minx wants us all guessing at where she is at all times..."

"Is…is that… Jane?" Liara asked, gesturing to the two clones sitting beside each other. I nodded in reply. "I'm going to go introduce myself." She gave me a questioning look, almost as if the sentence was a question rather than a statement.

"I think that's a good idea," I replied, "But remember, Liara: she is her own person. She is not Rebecca..."

The Shadow Broker smiled and nodded at me, then walked over to join the peanut gallery.

 _BROTHER! A moment?"_ Javik Mind-Shared from the other side of the room. My eyes turned white as I replied in the affirmative.

"Zaeed? Can you show the kids some pointers in hand-to-hand?" I asked. "Javik needs me for something."

"Figured that when your eyes went all pearly," Zaeed said in that brilliantly gruff voice of his. "OK, kids," he said, climbing into the ring, to the wide-eyed expressions of the two pupils, "You're going to attack me. And I'm gonna stop you…"

"Is that that giant bow of Turro's?" Garrus asked me, gesturing to the giant avian sitting at the bench.

"I think he's trying to repair it," I answered. "Jedore broke it on Korlus, and so he…broke her."

"I'm gonna take a look," Garrus said, starting to walk towards the Raloian, "Been wanting to see that thing since Omega…"

I smiled again contently as I looked around the room, seeing both crews integrating and interacting so seamlessly. Two loud thuds were heard as Zaeed sent both of my pupils to the mat hard.

"All the fancy shit ain't going to get the job done in the field, kiddos," Zaeed was saying. "Close the distance, and put them down…"

I joined the three swordsmen on the far side of the room. Morinth and Kai were squaring off, practice swords in hand. They were essentially steel rods, perfectly weighted to mimic a sword, minus the sharp edge. But still painful to get hit with.

 _Needed another pair of eyes to judge the human's competence_ , Javik silently Shared with me. _So far, I have seen more stealth than actual skill from this one. _

I sent a pulse of assent as I sat down to watch. The sparring pair had stripped down to the waist, with Morinth (thankfully) keeping her sports bra on. Kai's physique was impressive, and the surgical scars running along his sides and arms bespoke of some of the surgical implants he had so far.

 _Looks like Generation 2 Bone and Skin Weaves…_

 _Probably some cybernetic implants, as well._

Morinth sprang forward, sending a blindly furious series of thrusts. Kai blocked left, spinning right at the same time, his sword arcing in a slash at neck level. Using her forward momentum, Morinth dropped to her knees, sliding forward under Leng's swing, rising again behind him to the attack.

And so the bout went, with Leng dodging and redirecting most of Morinth's attacks, and Morinth charging forward with barely contained shouts of fury. Leng ducked under another of her swipes, then suddenly hooked his sword beneath her ankle, knocking the asari off-balance. As she went down on one knee, the practice sword came up to pause at her throat. Morinth grimaced at her defeat, and at the smug grin Kai Leng had on his face.

"Good fight, Leng," she admitted, taking the hand he offered her. "Nearly had you there a few times."

"Nearly," the assassin admitted, grinning widely. "But not quite."

"You call _that_ a fight?" Javik said from his observation post.

"I look and see two brats beating each other to death with their nursery toys: A complete and utter disgrace. In my cycle, you would not have been fit to sharpen the blades you wield in a blade-smith's shop! Your strategies were childish, your footwork was sloppy at best, and your form was disgusting to say the least. In short, you both have a better chance of battling _colds_ then you do any real enemies!"

The anger from the asari and the human was palpable, but they made no reply. Javik looked back and forth between then, then huffed dismissively.

"I see by your eyes you remain unconvinced of your total ineptitude. Very well: prove my words wrong, primitives!"

Javik went to a nearby crate and picked up a practice sword.

"On Guard!"

Kai and Morinth took a ready stance, swords at the ready. Javik only stood and waited on the other side of the make-shift ring, making no movement, his arms hanging limply at his sides.

Kai moved in quickly, swinging in a wide arc. Javik moved his head ever so slightly, letting the blade brush _just_ beneath his chin, then, in blinding quickness, brought his sword up to Kai's chin with a CRACK, then down onto the top of his head. Kai's eyes rolled into the back of his head and he went down like a bag of sand. All of this happened in less than the time it took to even think about it. Morinth now stood, sword in hand, warily circling the Avatar of Vengeance…

"Come on, _asari_ , I don't have all day."

Morinth gripped the sword tighter. Then Kai's sword suddenly glowed brilliant blue and floated into her free hand.

"Come on, child! Or are your swords as dumb as YOU?"

Morinth whirled to the attack, jumping off the wall to get the high ground advantage. She was ready for the counter-thrust Javik threw at her, and the myriad of sword-tricks and feints that followed. On and on the bout went, from one side of the ring to the other, her dual blades versus his single one. Javik kept attempting to press her, draw her, or trap her in a corner, but I could tell Morinth had fought too many times for that. She rolled and she dodged, but still held her ground. Then, as she rolled under his swing, Javik pivoted on his heel.

 _He's off balance,_ I thought, _not much, but maybe, just maybe, enough. If she can recognize it…_

Sure enough, Morinth shot out a foot, and with a grunt, Javik went down to one knee. She rolled up onto her feet behind him and placed one of her blades to the back of his neck.

"Yield, Prothean."

She was smiling and panting hard, exalting in her victory.

Javik shook his head.

"Asari, you are blind as well as stupid. Why should I yield to the dead?"

Morinth looked down slowly and then we both saw what he meant. Falling to one knee, Javik had executed a perfect reverse-thrust even as she was rolling to her feet. The point of his practice sword rested against her stomach.

He had beaten her.

She took her sword off Javik's neck and took a kneeling position, sword to her chest in the time-honored salute. Her face burned bright blue with both exertion and shame, but she spoke the hard and bitter words of a Prothean war-school pupil:

"Cry pardon, teacher. Thank you for your instruction."

Javik got to his feet and turned to face her. He was smiling, or as close as Javik ever got to smiling.

"Well then… maybe not so blind."

He returned the salute, and then tossed his practice sword to the side.

"Pour some water over that idiot," he said, gesturing to Kai in the corner, who was just regaining consciousness. With a _THUMP_ , Basher jumped off a nearby crate, then walked over to the concussed human. Looking around, I saw we had drawn quite the crowd: with the exception of Zaeed teaching the two pupils, every eyes had been trained on the sword-fight.

"Easy, friend. Mr. Javik hit you hard on the head," the krogan said, reaching a hand out to help Kai up and tapping his own head with the other hand. Kai grimaced at the realization of what had happened, but took the offered hand and slowly got to his feet.

"So Javik," Jane called out, still sitting up in the improvised bleachers with Liara, "Who's the better fighter: You or Ko'le?"

The Avatar of Vengeance simply looked up at her with a deadpan expression.

"That, Miss Jane, is a question that was answered long ago."

"To be fair, I was little more than a boy then," I said, smiling. "And you were already a general."

"Then that is your answer, Seneschal," Javik said, his face betraying nothing, but there was a flicker of amusement in his eyes.

"Oooooh," Jane said, holding up a hand in mock shock, while Liara chuckled next to her. "That sounds like a challenge to me, Ko'le…"

"In our cycle, challenges were fights to the death to either put down ambitious underlings or replace inept battlefield commanders," Javik explained to Jane. "As neither I nor the seneschal fit either of those descriptions, the comparison is foundationless."

"Call it a training exercise then, General," I said, taking a practice blade that Morinth was already handing to me. "Unless, then, this last bout was too much for your old bones, _Kubwa_?"

With a Mind-Share of playful resentment at the Prothean word for "Grandpa," Javik opened a hand, and his discarded practice sword flew across the room in a brilliant display of Prothean biotics.

" _Kuja juu, Mtoto_ ," he said slowly, a ghost of a smile crossing his lips.

 _Come on, little boy_.

I hefted the practice blade in my hand a few times, to get a proper feel for the balance.

 _Half gram heavy on the back end…_

 _It's been so long since I last fought Javik. Last time was…_

"OH MY GOD!" Reyna called from across the room. We all turned to see a vorcha entering the room, a duffle bag slung across his shoulder.

"PYKE!"

Everyone in the room either stood to acknowledge the vorcha Sergeant-Major or rushed to his side to deliver hugs, handshakes, or salutes. As I walked forward to join the crowd, Pyke Morrell drew himself up to full attention, and gave a proud salute.

"Umm…Pyke?" Kolyat said hesitantly.

"Sah?"

"Your hand..."

"What of it?"

"You didn't have one, last time I looked," the young drell said. "Prosthetic?"

"Stuff and nonsense, young pup," Pyke said with an offended _huff_. "Not the first jerker I've grown back, and expect it shan't be the last, either."

The hand in question was smaller than his left, I noticed, and had much less muscle tone, but a fully functional right hand it remained.

" _Bloody vorcha_ ," Zaeed chuckled, shaking his head.

"It's good to have you back, Sergeant-Major," I said, returning the salute. "Though I confess, I did not look to see you back with us so quickly."

"Nonsense, sirrah," Pyke said good-naturedly, "A week in a Medi-Gel Tank, and the stump is as good as new. From what I've read in the reports, I've apparently missed a hellova tussle on Korlus. Couldn't bear to miss another scrap, sah, not when eternal glory is on the line."

A throaty chuckle escaped Turro. "I have missed your company, Morrell- _sho_."

"Same here, sah," Pyke said, nodding cordially at the big Raloi, "All of you."

As everyone else was exchanging either greetings or introductions, something in the corner of my eye caught my attention: Clad all in black, Jack had entered the room unnoticed and was now leaning against the wall by the door, arms crossed and eyes glaring.

Directly at _me_ …

 _Well,_ I thought, _here goes nothing._

I strode over, slowly, the analogy of approaching a wild dog or skittish horse not escaping me. Jack didn't move, but I could see her muscles tensing as I approached.

"Jack," I said simply, nodding my head.

"So, you're the big shit around here," Jack answered, looking me up and down. "You don't look like much."

"Appearances can be deceiving," I replied. "I'm surprised to see you here. Pleasantly so, but surprised."

"What, you just assumed I'm the loner who can't handle herself around people?" Jack retorted. "I can be fucking _charming_ when I want to be."

"No doubt," I said, giving her my best disarming smile. "Shepard gave you access to the database?"

The look on Jack's face seemed to indicate that my smile hadn't worked.

"Yeah, and I have fuck-all to show for it," Jack said. "All I could find was a few reports about something called Project Teltin, along with a few medical reports about me when I was a kid. But no names, locations, and nothing about Cardo, or any of the other motherfuckers who ran the facility!"

Her hands were balled into fists now, and she was radiating anger and frustration.

"Take a walk with me," I said, walking past her and out the door onto the Promenade. Jack didn't move. I looked back, and shrugged.  
"Or we can have this conversation in front of everybody," I said, and continued walking down the Promenade.

I didn't hear anything for a second, then Jack caught up to me, and I could sense her anger slowly shifting to irritation.

"Fuck, you gonna buy me flowers too?" she muttered, but continued to walk next to me.

"Better," I said, and powered on my Omni-tool, and sent her a collection of files.

"Helios Medical Facility, Constant, Eden Prime, year 2165," I narrated, as Jack brought up the first file. "Samuel and Rosalind Hill brought their four-year old daughter Jennifer in for a routine checkup. Objects in her nursery had begun glowing blue, or floating. Biotics were still a fairly new thing back then, and everyone was worried about the effects of Element Zero exposure to infants. According to official records, Jennifer Hill experienced a sudden attack of unstable, complex tachycardia and was declared dead at the hospital. Her body was given by her parents for study, to prevent this kind of tragedy from happening to other parents."

" _Fucking…bastards…"_ Jack said under her breath, as she read the official report.

"Unofficially, the little girl was swapped with a fake body, and delivered to a Cerberus facility on Pragia, in the Dakka System of the Nubian Expanse," I continued, another file coming up on Jack's Omni-tool. "Under the supervision of one Dr. Sullivan Cardo, she was tested and classified as Subject Zero, the first test subject of the Teltin Biotics Project."

Jack just stared at the file, having long since stopped walking. She was leaning against the transpara-steel wall, slowly sinking down to a sitting position. I stood over her for a moment, then slowly sat down beside her. There was another long silence, as she switched back and forth between the various reports.

"Jennifer," I said finally. "That's your real name."

" _Fuck_ her," Jack said, the bitter words said through clenched teeth. "That kid _died_ a long fucking time ago. She was sweet, she was good, and she was innocent. And I'm…I'm… _fuck!_ "

She shut down her Omni-Tool and stared straight ahead for a moment.

"That name means nothing to me. Just another thing on the list of shit that Cerberus took from me…"

"Perhaps it means nothing to _you_ ," I conceded, "But I can think of at least _three_ people to whom it means a great deal."

Jack looked over at me, eyebrow raised, but said nothing.

"The Hills still live on Eden Prime, along with their teenage son, Brandon," I continued. "And every year, they go to the cemetery and leave fresh flowers on Jennifer's grave."

"BULLSHIT," Jack said, standing to her feet. "FUCK you, and Fuck your Cerberus friends too!"

She turned and began storming down the hallway.

"I killed them, Jack!" I called out after her.

 _That_ stopped her, and she whirled around, confused bewilderment in her eyes.

"My 'Cerberus friends'," I explained, "I tracked them down and purged them all. I took _this blade_ ," I said, taking out the weapon from my back, "and ran it through the Illusive Man's _fucking_ heart."

"Congrata-fuck-you-lations," Jack retorted, "What the hell do you want, a cookie?"

"Then I took _these hands_ ," I continued, showing them to her, "And I tracked down every xenophobic, blood-thirsty _motherfucker_ in the organization. I _hunted_ them down, one by one, and I _exterminated_ them, like the parasites they were. I took them for every credit and unit they had: every ship, every facility, and every solider. And I have only sought to put this galaxy right ever since. That 'C' on the side of the _Normandy_ , and on the uniforms of my soldiers, now stands for something I can be _proud of_. Not for an organization that takes children from their parents and turns them into fucking _weapons."_

Jack just stood there for a moment, staring at me. Then she turned away, one hand flipping me off as she turned the corner, heading back towards the _Normandy_. I stood and watched her go.

 _Fuck. Well, that didn't turn out as good as I had hoped._

 _To be fair, it didn't turn out as bad as I had feared, either. All the bulkheads are still intact._

 _She's just angry. She needs time to process this._

 _She seeks an enemy to kill..._

 _And what happens when she finds one?_

 _Mother save that poor bastard, because I sure as hell won't._

I turned back into the gym to rejoin my team-mates.

* * *

 ***FREEDOM'S PROGRESS*  
CANTON, FRONTIER SYSTEM  
OLYMPIAN NEBULA  
**

"This. Is. Bullshit!" Mason exclaimed in the pre-fab pod that now acted as Delta Squad's common area. "We _finally_ get off that SHITHOLE on Fehl Prime, and _what_ do they do us!? They take away the best commanding officer in the whole damn Alliance!"

"It's not _that_ bad, sweetheart," Kamille, the team's assault specialist (and Mason's significant other) answered. "If that round had been a centimeter to the right, it would have gone through Captain Toni's spine. He needs intensive rehab: the kind he can only get on Arcturus or Earth. Frankly, I'm surprised he held off the medical transfer _this_ long."

"He _does_ need this, Mason," Nicky said, while he was working on the temperature control unit in the corner. Being the team's tech expert had turned into being the team's "general fix-it handyman." But it was a job he had taken without complaint.

"It's not just about Toni, kid," Milque spoke up from the couch, the sniper flipping through Holo-channels. "It's what this all _represents_."

"What do you mean?" Essex wondered, his biotic concentration broken for a moment, if the weights' wavering were any indication.

"He _means_ ," Mason groaned, "that now the brass wants to break Delta Squad apart. First Captain Toni, then who knows what's next? We know the Captain recommended Vega for N7 training: how long before he gets shipped off?"

"We _all_ recommended the LT for the Villa," Kamille replied. "You can't blame the brass for _that_."

"Meanwhile," Mason continued, ignoring his girlfriend's sound logic, " _We're_ stuck here with some pimply-faced teenager LT fresh out of the fuckin' ACADEMY, along with a kiss-ass 2nd LT to wipe his boots for him. Mark my words, gang: this is it for us…"

"Stow that shit, Mason," came a Latino voice from the door. Everyone whirled to see James Vega, the squad's second-in-command, enter the room, towel over his shoulder. " _Dios mio,_ do you ever _stop_ complaining?"

He walked over to the weight rack, Essex moving aside for him. He picked up the rack that the biotic had been lifting and began bench-pressing.

"Look at this place, _hermanos_ : we've got a work-out room, an actual _ciudad_ where we can get _good_ food for once, and the prospect of doing nothing but training colonists to shoot for the next six weeks. What could there possibly be to complain about?"

"We lose Captain Toni and have to deal with a _fucking_ newbie for a CO," Mason answered sullenly.

"The _Commandante_ fucking _needs_ this, Mason," Vega said, suddenly sitting up and pointing a finger at the squad's pilot. "I don't want to hear another _fucking_ word about it, OK? He's going to Arcturus to get his PT over and done with, then he's coming _right_ back here to babysit your sorry ass. _Comprende?"_

"That's what _I've_ been telling him, LT," Kamille said, leaning over with a smile to kiss Mason on the cheek. "But he's just being his usual _charming_ , cheerful self."

" _Todo el tiempo_ ," Vega sighed, going back to the weights.

"The Captain say anything to you about his replacement, Vega?" Essex said, spotting the much larger man.

"Not a word, ' _mano_ ," Vega grunted. "I know just as much about it as you."

"That's weird though, right?" Essex pondered. "I mean, why wouldn't he tell us anything?"

"Maybe because the brass hasn't told _him_ anything?" Vega postulated.

"My guess is a newbie," Milque offered from his spot on the couch. "Some admiral's nephew or grandson that he thinks he can toughen up by giving him a veteran unit on an easy training assignment."

"Maybe," Vega conceded, " _Quien sabe?_ Even then, won't be the end of the world: I'll take six weeks of anybody, so long as it's _here_. You see the bars and restaurants in this colony? _Mucho_ _de comida rica, mi amigos_."

"English, dude…English," Essex exclaimed, shaking his head. "You know none of us speak that Spanish shit…the translators don't even pick it up, it's so old!"

" _¿Pero, cómo si puedo decir que eres un saco de mierda y que ni siquiera entiende lo que estoy diciendo, Essex?"_ Vega rattled off in his mother tongue, smiling all the while, and to the amusement of the rest of the squadmates.

Essex shook off the confused and vacant look on his face, or at least tried to.

"All right, all right, _whatever_ dude," he said, throwing up his hands in frustration.

" **ATEN-SHUN! OFFICER ON DECK**!" boomed an authoritative voice from the doorway. The squad leapt from their positions, snapping to instant attention, facing the door.

An older man, dressed in fatigues and leaning on crutches, stood in the doorway. Beside him was a younger woman in an Alliance lieutenant's dress uniform. Captain Toni looked around the room, making eye contact with each squad member before speaking.

"Delta Squad, this is Lieutenant Ashley Williams, your new commanding officer," the veteran said. "The more intelligent among you may recognize her: she was the only survivor of the geth attack on Eden Prime, and on Commander Shepard's squad at the Battle of the Citadel, both of them battles that make our little jaunt on Fehl Prime look like _fucking_ summer vacations!"

Silent nods were given around the room to the squad's commanding officer.

"Now, introductions," the captain said, making his way into the room, Williams at his side. "Lieutenant, this is 2nd Lieutenant James Vega: one of the best seconds I've ever had."

"Ma'am," Vega said, tossing up a salute. "We all have seen the vids: it's an honor."

"And I've read your report on Fehl Prime," Ashley said, returning the salute. "The honor is mine."

"We did our duty ma'am," Vega replied, "And I did no less than anyone else in this room."

"On that note," Toni continued, "This is Gunnery Sergeant William Mason, our squad pilot. And a damn good one, too."

"Ma'am."

"Gunny."

Toni turned to the rest of the squad, introducing each of them in turn. Then, on the way out, he turned to glare around the room again.

"Now, I know that I can depend on each of you to give her your full support and your unquestioning obedience," he barked. "Because if you do NOT, or do ANYTHING to tarnish the reputation of the finest squad I have ever had the honor to command…" he paused meaningfully, and his voice cracked _ever_ so slightly on the last word, "I'll come back here and kick all of your collective asses."

"Sir," Vega said, stepping forward. "The honor is ours, sir. We'll do you proud."

"Of that I have no doubt," Lt. Williams replied from the door. Cpt. Toni looked like he was going to say something else, but then he simply swallowed,

"As you were," he said, and slowly made his way back down the hallway, his crutches _tap-tapping_ as he and his replacement chatted about the squad and the assignment. When they got faint enough, the room relaxed.

"Well…didn't see any pimples," Essex said, smiling.

"That's because you would've had to look above her _chest_ to get a good look, pervert," Kamille ribbed.

"Ashley _fucking_ Williams," Mason breathed, "I've heard the stories…"

"What stories?" Nicky asked. Everyone turned to stare at the youngest member of the squad.

"Oh, _kid_ ," Essex said, stepping forward to launch into the barrack-room gossip about the squad's newly-arrived commander. "I knew a guy whose cousin served on the _Normandy_. And he swears that this one time…"

Vega shook his head as the story got taller and taller. Taking down a skyscraper-sized robot with a combat knife? He chuckled. At least this was good for the squad's morale. He was curious himself how the war hero would measure up to Captain Toni.

 _Big shoes to fill_ , he thought.

He comforted himself with the knowledge that at least they were now stationed in the largest and most well-defended colony in the Terminus Systems. A place like Fehl Prime as a ripe target for pirates or slavers. Or at least, it had been: a full _company_ of Alliance marines had replaced them on garrison duty as the squad had pulled out.

But a place like this? What could possibly happen?

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

 **Hey, everyone!  
Well, the two crews have a short down-time before we jump into the next exciting part of our story. Those of you who have watched **_**Mass Effect: Paragon Lost**_ **will recognize the members of Delta Squad, of whom I hope to give a fair representation. Please let me know what you think!**

 **If you haven't seen** _ **Paragon Lost,**_ **go watch it. Right now. Go. Now.**

 **Also, full credit to the Psychotic Biotic's backstory goes to** **AmnityN7,** **who was kind enough to let me use her OCs for my own stories. If you are a fan of Mass Effect fics (which I'm assuming you are, if you're here), then go check out her awesome collection of works! Honestly, she's written some of my favorite ME fanfics on this site. Thanks,** **AmnityN7!**

 **As always, please leave me a review or PM to let me know what you guys think! Even if it's just "Good job," it is always a huge boost for me and makes even the most shitty of days that much more awesome! I welcome all comments/suggestions/constructive criticisms!**

 **ROCK ON, EVERYBODY!**

 **-Tusken1602**

* * *

Reviewer Responses:  
 **I have to catch up for 2 chapters, but I was blown away at you guys' awesome reviews! Keep'em coming!**

Chapter 8:

griezz – Morinth's feeding (and how it affects her) is going to be the subject of its very own chapter very soon. :O

BrotherCaptainSheperd – LOL, I see what you did there. ;)

Squadpunk 2.0, Tahuaullus01 – Glad you liked Basher. I always thought he'd make a good addition to the team, and you just have to leave him there in the game…

Blaze1992 – I will do my best. The battles at least, will be in a much larger scale for ME:3.

Zeru'Xil – I'm glad someone caught that… :P

METALHELLSPWN – Yeah, don't break the bow. OR they'll break _you_.

BJ Hanssen: Thanks for the Game-Science reminder! I live off reviews like these…

redcollector, shugokage, Elvisfonz23 – Thanks guys! Glad you liked it!

* * *

Chapter 9:

Blaze1992 – There will be head-butting aplenty in the future. Promise…

griezz – I think Jane and Basher do have a lot in common. The timeline has shifted backwards a bit (by Shepard's waking up six months early), so we're not quite to Horizon… but maybe a different colony…

Appbeza, Pietersielie Biorr the Old, Tahkaullus01, Nagato21, BJ Hanssen – Thanks! EDI's POV was tough, but I gave it my best shot…

fan-rei – Basher will be a permanent fixture in Team Ko'le, and we'll be seeing more of him. He's been fun to write so far…

Zeru'Xil, Elvisfonz23, METALHELLSPWN, general-joseph-dickson, Guest, Anny-Rudolph, Peon – Glad you guys enjoyed it so much! I honestly couldn't tell you who has more fun: you guys reading the story, or me reading your reviews! It's awesome, and I love it!

* * *

May the Father below accept you when your times comes, and until then, may the Mother keep you always.

EE-RAH!


	11. Chapter 11: Freedom's Progress

* **CSV** _ **INDOMITABLE*  
**_

"Holy. SHIT."

I sat there, looking the beautiful monstrosity that had been placed before me by the big Raloi. It was a long rifle, but I recognized elements of the two halves of the broken _Hak'kam_ that had been integrated with the weapon.

"Vakarian- _sho_ was most helpful with the design, as was Jane- _sha_ ," Turro said, his head cocked to the right in an avian smile. "What do you think?"

I picked up the long rifle, the sheer weight and length of the weapon making it a bit ungainly. But then, suddenly there was a _hum_ and the weapon came to life, two purple arcs suddenly crossing above the weapon.

 _Holy, shit, I'm holding a Wookie Bow-caster._

"It is a thing of rare beauty, my friend," I answered, the awe and admiration spilling over into my words.

"It employs the same principle as a traditional _Hak'kam_ ," Turro said proudly. "Simply press the trigger for rapid shots, or hold the trigger mechanism for a single, powerful bolt."

He looked around sheepishly.

"I would not recommend doing it here."

I smiled, remembering a certain incident with Commander Shepard and my Battle-Rifle.

"I hope to see it christened in battle soon, then, brother," I said, handing the weapon back to him. Turro bowed his head, but before he could say anything, my Omni-Tool buzzed. Turro took his right wing to his chest, then forehead in a gesture of respect before backing out of the Captain's cabin. I returned the gesture, then answered the call.

" **DAD?"**

"EDI? What's up?" I asked, delighted that she had taken time out of her day to call me.

" **Freedom's Progress, a human colony in the Frontier System, just sent out a single distress call, claiming to be under attack from an unknown vessel. Then it went dark."**

Amusement faded, along with my smile, replaced with sinking dread.

"Collectors?"

" **We think so. The Conclave had embedded an agent there: Veetor 'Nara vas Rayya. Just after the colony went dark, we received a distress call on encrypted Con-Sec channels. Thanks to upgrades we've implemented to our systems after Haestrom and Singapore Nova, we think Agent Nara found a way to circumvent whatever jamming system the Collectors have been using on previous colonies. It's just a general distress call on repeat, but it's an open line of communication, which is more than we've had before."**

"We'll set course with all due haste," I said. "This is a chance to stop the Collectors in the act of attacking an Alliance colony."

" **Dad…there's more."**

"What?"

" **Freedom's Progress…was the last known location of Lieutenant Williams."**

 _Mother above have mercy._

 _No._

 _No._

 _NO!_

 _She was not supposed to be there! She is supposed to be on Horizon!_

" **Dad?"**

"Transfer me to Commander Shepard, EDI. _Now_."

" **Of course."**

 _This is what happens when we interfere with the time-stream, Kevin. Events are bound to be different from the games you know._

 _You can bet your ass they will be. I'm not about to lose Freedom's Progress._

 _You mean you're not about to lose your woman?_

 _FUCK OFF, KO'LE!_

 _WE FIGHT THE FALLEN, Kevin. BEAST STANDS WITH YOU._

" **Ko'le? EDI brought you up to speed?"**

Shepard's face appeared on my Omni-Tool.

"We're gonna go get Ash, Shepard," I said between gritted teeth.

" **Bet your ass, we will,"** Shepard said, a tense smile on her face. **"Last one there buys the drinks?"**

Her attempt at humor was appreciated, but I had no time for jokes.

"Tell me Mordin has something…"

" **He says he does, or at least, he's supremely confident."**

"That will have to do, then," I concluded, ending the call. I walked over to the Master Shipboard Intercom.

" **NOW HEAR THIS,"** my voice boomed across the halls of the _Indomitable_. **"ALL STATIONS, TO RED ALERT! ALL HANDS, BEAT TO GENERAL QUARTERS AND MAN YOUR BATTLE STATIONS! THIS IS NOT A DRILL. REPEAT, THIS IS** _ **NOT**_ **A DRILL."**

The light in the hallways went from its normal color scheme to a deep red, and a blaring siren began sounding. I switched over on the intercom to connect directly to Engineering.

"Engineering, what is the possibilities of going to 110% on the FTL drive core?" I asked.

" **Ummm…110 possible,** _ **Seneschal**_ **…but not recommended,"** came the answer.

"DO IT," I ordered, switching back to the ship-wide system.

" **THE COLONY OF FREEDOM'S PROGRESS HAS COME UNDER ATTACK FROM COLLECTOR FORCES,"** I explained in as even a voice as my emotions allowed. **"WE HAVE CONCLAVE AND ALLIANCE LIVES AT RISK; INNOCENT LIVES DEPENDING ON US. THE NEAREST ALLIANCE FORCE IS SEVERAL SYSTEMS OVER. WE ARE THE BEST AND ONLY CHANCE OF HELP THEY HAVE** _ **."**_

I took a deep breath.

" **THE COLLECTORS…WILL TEST US. NO ONE HAS FACED THEM IN BATTLE, AND LIVED TO TELL THE TALE, IN OVER FIFTY MILLENNIA.**

 **THAT CHANGES TODAY!**

 **YOU ARE THE BEST OF THE BEST: THE ELITE OF THE ELITE. DO YOUR DUTY, AND DO RIGHT BY YOUR COMRADES BESIDE YOU, AND WE'LL SEND THESE COLLECTOR BASTARDS BACK TO THE HELL THAT THEY CAME FROM.** _ **"**_

I released the intercom button, and turned to my armor locker. My red and black samurai-themed Mercenary suit stood there in all its awesome glory, but that was not the suit I needed today. I reached for the small 8"x11" golden box on the bottom of the locker and strapped it in at the small of my back. I reached back and typed the familiar code, then felt the bright-gold Prothean armor segments engaging and wrapping themselves around me, like the embrace of a long-lost friend.

 _Like her embrace…_

 _No! Shake those thoughts from your mind, Kevin!_

 _WE HAVE NO TIME FOR THIS!_

 _Beast is right, Kevin: We must focus, if we are to survive the coming fight._

I looked in the mirror, settling into the once-familiar feel of my Prothean armor again. My neck-piece was not as large as Javik and the rest of the Protheans, as I didn't have a giant crest to protect. But other than that, it was identical to Javik's armor from ME:3.

 _Focus, Kevin._

 _This will be the main Collector World-Ship: it will be vertical, designed so for the ease of loading the paralyzed colonists._

 _WE MUST BOARD THE SHIP TO SAVE FRIENDS._

 _Yes, but the primary objective must be to disable the ship from leaving. Then we can board the ship at will, on our own terms and on our own time._

 _We should relay the ship's weak points to the Normandy: The Thanix cannons will be able to punch through anything the Collectors can throw at us._

 _And we have the advantage of surprise. While in Planetary Mode, a World-Ship has limited weapons-systems, all focused on ground-to-ground fighting._

 _At least, a Prothean World-Ship does, Ko'le. Who knows what the Collectors have done to bastardize the vessel?_

I brought up my Omni-Tool, bringing up a diagram of the Collector Ship and highlighting weak points and target areas, then forwarding them to Weapons Control, on both the _Indomitable_ and the _Normandy._

After a trip down the stairs, I opened the door to the _Indomitable_ 's armory. My squad was assembled, all in the various stages of arming themselves and strapping on their equipment. Everyone paused as I entered the room.

"Alright, listen up," I said, taking a deep breath to collect my thoughts. "We do not know what exactly is out there. As paranoid as we have been about the Collectors, the chance remains that this could be a pirate raid or slaver attack. We should be ready for anything."

I received nods all around the room, along with Javik's silent request to speak, which I granted.

"The Fallen…I mean, the Collector's favorite tactic in _our cycle_ was to feign retreat," Javik said, taking his place beside me and bringing up a hologram of a battle simulation. Eight red dots and eight blue dots were arranged in a line facing one another.

"The Collectors will throw their weakest units first, tricking their enemy into advancing," Javik explained, moving the dots to mimic the blue's advance. "Then the outer units will use their flight capabilities to flank and surround the attackers, trapping them in a kill- zone _thusly_."

The red dots on the right and left sides moved in to the rear of the blue, trapping the eight blue dots in a circle.

"Cover your teammates," I warned, "And stay in your fire-teams. As tempting as it may be to advance, especially under circumstances such as these, STAY. TOGETHER. The lone hunter…"

"Dies," finished the team, completing the Prothean proverb Javik and I had been hammering into them.

"Morinth, Leng, Reyna, and Kolyat, you're with me," I said.

"Basher, Jane, Turro'le, Tallaxis, and Morrell, with me," Javik said.

"Any communication from the colony?" Jane asked. I shook my head.

"Communications are still down, but that will be one of our primary objectives," I answered. "We will move into the colony and try and reestablish their communications grid. Javik's squad will move to coordinate with Shepard to secure the Colony Command Center, or, if there is still an active resistance in place, they will move to link up with them."

"Roger that, sir," Jane said, squaring her shoulders. "Hey, Ko'le?" she asked in a quieter voice. "Ash is here, isn't she? Lieutenant Williams, I mean?" she corrected herself.

I nodded.

"We'll get her," Jane reassured me. "She'll be fine."

I took my hand and patted her shoulder in thanks, as I walked over and paired my Omni-Tool to the ship's intercom system.

"Helm, what's our status?"

" **We have just entered FTL,** _ **Seneschal**_ **. ETA in-system: five hours."**

"Very good. All Assault Squads, to the shuttles!"

* * *

 ***FREEDOM'S PROGRESS*  
CANTON, FRONTIER SYSTEM  
OLYMPIAN NEBULA**

Ash gritted her teeth as another mortar round sent dirt and debris flying everywhere.

"VEGA?"

"ALL GOOD, HERE, LT!" came the reply from a nearby crater that was serving as an improvised foxhole. "Damn _putas_ can't aim for shit…"

His Mattock rifle barked, laying down a field of fire across the street in front of them.

"Veetor, any word?" Ashley asked into her Omni-Tool.

" **I am sending out the distress call on a modulating frequency, Lieutenant,"** the quarian engineer explained. **"The Collectors should have more difficulty jamming the transmission. However, that also means I can't stay on any frequency long enough to receive a response…"**

"Understood," Ashley said, "Keep at it. We'll try to buy you as much time as possible. Milque, Essex, where are you two?"

A Collector crossing the street suddenly twitched and went down as a round went through its head.

" **I've got a position at the Comm Hub roof,"** Milque answered. "Essex is on his way to you. His Omni is still FUBAR after that EMP the suit-rat set off."

"That EMP is the only reason we're not all frozen like Kamille," Ashley reprimanded, "That 'suit-rat' saved your miserable ass, Milque."

Ash picked up her Avenger and joined Vega in laying down a cross-fire.

 _Since when did a Williams become a spokesperson for alien rights?_ She wondered. _Another thing to thank Shepard for, I guess_.

Veetor had always been a quiet kid, Ashley had thought, but he had thrown himself into the colony's defense with gusto. When everyone else had been panicking about the giant swarm of paralyzing locusts, he had the clarity of mind to set off that electromagnetic pulse. When he did, he had put the swarm out of commission, but not before they had frozen dozens of colonists, and the squad's secondary assault member, Kamille. Ashley and Vega had managed to get colonists organized and the victims into the bunker just in time for the enemy ground troops to show up.

 _Weren't expecting_ _this much_ _resistance, where you, motherfuckers?_

A blue warp field struck another Collector, pulling it out from cover long enough for Ashley and Vega to put it down. Essex let out a wild war-whoop as he vaulted over an overturned skycar and landed next to Ashley.

"Hey, boss? What's up?"

"Nicky and Mason get that those automated cannons up yet?" Ashley asked. Essex shook his head.

"Mason is guarding the Mess Hall with the rest of the colonists and the frozen people. Apparently he won't leave Kamille..."

Ashley swore internally.

 _This is why there are regs against in-squad fraternization…_

"So Nicky is trying to calibrate the system _by himself?"_

"Kid said he could do it… Hasn't let us down so far."

" **Lieutenant!"** Veetor's voice came back over the radio.

"What is it?" Ashley responded.

" **I had our sensor network back up for a moment,"** Veetor answered. **"right before the Collectors shut me back down."**

Ashley allowed herself a sigh. She was gonna see that kid get a medal, if it was the last thing she did.

"Great work, Veetor. Keep trying your best. We just have to –"

" **ENEMY RESISTANCE: FORMIDABLE"** came a voice across the battlefield. **"DEPLOY PRETORIAN."**

"Holy HELL! What the _fuck_ is that?" Essex exclaimed. Ashley looked just in time to see a _massive_ floating… lobster coming down the street. At its feet were…

 _Oh, God._

 _Oh, God, no._

 _Husks._

The all-too familiar moaning could be heard, as the humanoid, zombie-like creatures came forward at a lurching run.

"VEGA! GRENADES!"

Vega chucked two of the explosive disks forward, their proximity triggers activating when the horde of husks reached them. Two explosions scattered their onslaught, but not all of the husks stayed down…

"Essex! Vega! Focus fire on the Praetorian! I'll take care of the- "

Ashley command was cut off by the massive Collector creature charging its weapons and firing a _giant_ purple beam towards the trio. Essex threw up a biotic barrier around Ashley and himself as Vega dove for cover. The beam struck the blue field and tossed it aside like tissue paper. Ashley managed to wrap an arm around the biotic's waist and pull him aside just in time. A stream of blood trickled down Essex's face from his nose.

" _Damn_ ," he groaned. "Don't let me do that again…"

"Milque?" Ashley said into her Omni.

The Praetorian's beam was interrupted by a sniper round impacting its head. It wasn't enough to break through its barriers, but it was enough to throw it off balance. Vega took the opportunity to send a carnage round into its face, causing it to stumble backwards. Suddenly, the Praetorian glowed purple again, then leapt high into the air, coming down directly for Ashley and Essex.

 _Oh, Fuck me,_ was the last thing Ashley thought before everything went black.

* * *

 **CSV** _ **INDOMITABLE**_

Four and a half hours.

That's how long it had taken us to reach Freedom's Progress. And they had been the longest four hours of my life. But now here we were, flying low towards the colony.

The giant hulking figure of the Collector vessel was standing upright on the outskirts of the colony, rather than directly above the colony, like Horizon in the games. Even at this distance, bright flashes and explosions could be seen on the outskirts of the main colony.

 _Hubris, Harbinger_ , I thought exultantly. _You should have withdrawn the second you realized you had lost the element of surprise. But no, you just couldn't bring yourself to retreat before a colony of_ _primitives_ _, could you?_

 _And so, I think, this will cost you dearly…_

"Shepard?"

" **Thanix cannons at 98%,"** she replied. " **Firing in 5, 4, 3, 2…1…"**

"FIRE ALL!" I shouted, pointing at the massive vessel.

The front hanger bay of the _Indomitable_ had been retrofitted to house a giant Thanix cannon similar to the one the _Normandy_ sported. It reduced the number of shuttles the ship could carry, but boy, those babies backed a wallop when you needed one.

From the shuttle windows, we could see The _Normandy_ 's and the _Indy's_ cannons arc in long blue streaks, connecting with the Collector ship in massive explosions.

" **Oh, yeah! How do you like** _ **that,**_ **you sons of bitches?"** Joker called out over the radio. **"Payback is a bitch, and her stripper name is KARMA!"**

The shuttles turned towards the landing zones as both ships continued their assault on the vulnerable Collector vessel. We moved down, the four shuttles adopting a weaving pattern to confuse any potential ground-to-air fire. Sure enough, very shortly, purple arcs began speeding past the sides of the shuttles.

 _Praetorians_ , I heard Javik say in the Mind-Share. I sent back a feeling of assent.

"Everyone," I said into the radio. "Those beams are generated by units we called 'Praetorians.' They're basically big, tough motherfuckers that pack a hell of a punch. Their weak points are at the base of their spine, directly behind them."

I forwarded a diagram of one to each of the _Indomitable_ and _Normandy_ squad members.

"Morinth, set us down!" I called out to the asari piloting our shuttle. "We hoof it from here."

The four Kodiak shuttles touched down, the side doors opening to allow for our exit. No sooner had my boots hit solid ground when I heard Kai Leng to my left shout, "DOWN!" A blackish green ball of biotic energy whirled towards us on a collision course. I threw up a biotic barrier of my own just as it detonated. As the dust and dark energy cleared, I could see several figures running… no, _lurching_ towards us.

" **HUSKS!"** Shepard called out over the radio. **"Switch to In-Cen!"**

"Reyna, burn them up," I called. The Thorian smiled, then sent out an Incinerate Blast from her Omni-Tool. It struck the first cluster of husks and sent them tumbling back, crumbling beneath the flames.

There is something extremely unsettling about husks. In the games it's easy: They're all just generic blue zombie-creatures running towards you trying to shock you or punch you to death. While scary on Eden Prime, by the time you get to ME:3, it's just goddamn annoying.

Here, however: each husk was distinctly different. If you looked _just right_ (or rather, just wrong), you could see the person that husk _used_ to be, just for a moment, just for a second.

A second where your hand trembles, and your mind hesitates.

A second where you are taken out of the fight.

A second where a friend or a brother dies.

A second when all is lost.

And so we come to perhaps the most terrible aspect of war: the honing of the ability to _not care_. You have to _not care_ about who it is you're gunning down in front of you. You may dredge up all these emotions later (and unless you're a true sociopath, you probably will), but in _that_ moment, you have to purge all thoughts of "these used to be people" from your mind.

 _They are the enemy._

 _They are projections of the Reapers' will._

 _They are dead already: I am merely sending their bodies to follow their eternal souls to the afterlife._

 _Mother, have mercy._

 _Father, have mercy._

 _For I will not…_

"MOVE FORWARD!" I called, gesturing toward the colony's outer defenses. Javik's squad set out in the _Indomitable's_ M-44 Hammerhead, bound for the far side of the colony. Shepard, meanwhile, had stuck with the trusty M-35 Mako, rolling forward in style. Garrus' squad was on foot, as were we.

"Stick with me, kiddos," Morinth said to Reyna and Kolyat, grinning like a Cheshire Cat. She unfolded her SMG from the small of her back and began a focused advance. I had my Battle Rifle, as did Reyna, and Kolyat had his M-29 Incisor, the tri-shot combinations sounding distinct in the mayhem around us. The Collectors who did not fall immediately took wing and fell back. I drew a bead on one Collector who was flying back towards the colony, the blue beam of energy connecting with the insectoid wings. They burst into flame, and with a scream of anguish, the Collector fell out of the sky, black blood _splatting_ against the rocks upon impact.

"Leng! On your six!"

Kolyat's warning caused the assassin to whirl, bringing his palm-cannon to bear. The Iron Man-like weapon fired, knocking another Collector out of the sky.

"Good eye, kid," Kai muttered, recharging his weapons. Kolyat merely nodded in reply, but I could feel the pride the compliment brought out in him.

We came over a hill to the outlying buildings of the colony. I could see three automated turrets, but they were offline and inactive.

"Reyna, can you get those turrets back online?" I asked. The young Thorian moved the base of one of the guns and removed a service panel. She fiddled for a few moments, then shook her head at me.

"Circuit systems are fried," she answered. "Must have been knocked out by the EMP."

I stepped forward, my interface spike plunging directly into the motherboard. Nanites swarmed over the circuitry, repairing and replacing the blackened and charred connections. Within a few moments, the turrets _hummed_ back to life, scanning for targets. I uploaded a copy of known Reaper and Collector units into its "Hostile" database.

"Alright let's keep moving," I replied, giving Reyna an appreciative nod. "Follow the sounds of gunfire."

We went slowly down the street, passing dozens of husks, punctuated by the occasional Collector corpse. Here and there, we would come upon human casualties. Judging by their lack of uniforms, they were probably colonists, I guessed.

"Poor sods are putting up a hell of a fight," Morinth observed, looking around at the carnage and nodding towards the distant gunfire.

"Keep your eyes up for flanking parties," I ordered as we proceeded down the street.

As we came around one corner, suddenly a blue blur came charging at us in a full-on biotic charge. Instinctively, Morinth and I threw up a barrier _just_ in time. The blue figure bounced off the barrier with a massive _crackle_ of dark energy, then fell flat on his back about 15 feet away from us. My gun was out and trained on him _just_ before I recognized the blue uniform.

"Woah! Alliance!" I called out to my squadmates, preempting their own reactionary shots. I ran up to the prostrate figure, kneeling beside him to check his vitals. Reyna knelt beside me, scanning him with her Omni-Tool.

"He's alive, but barely," Reyna said. "His amps are _way_ overclocked. Poor guy's probably beyond exhausted."

 _He looks familiar…_

I looked at his armor, reading the name on the right side of his chest: Essex _._

 _Essex_.

 _Wait, Essex of Delta Squad?_

 _Paragon Lost, THAT Essex?_

 _As in VEGA's old unit?_

 _Well, current unit, now._

 _What are they doing here? They're supposed to be on Fehl Prime!_

 _Well, this one's coming to, why don't we ask him?_

" _Huuuuunnnnnngggh_ ," Essex gasped as his eyes shot open. He started flailing around for a moment, his biotics flickering feebly.

"STAND DOWN, SOLDIER!" I called out, trying to hold him down. "FRIENDLIES!"

That seemed to give him pause, and he looked around at each of our faces.

"Wh-wha-uh…what?" he stammered.

"Conclave Security, CSV _Indomitable_ ," I reiterated. "Name, rank, and unit, soldier!"

Understanding began to flicker in the back of the trooper's eyes.

"Umm… Essex, Private First Class, Delta Squad, sir."

"Is Vega in command here?" I asked.

"Uhh…since Williams got wounded, he has," Essex said groggily.

 _SHIT._

Morinth shot me a glance, but I ignored her.

 _Can't afford to let feelings get in the-FUCK IT!_

"How bad is Ash-I mean, how badly is Williams hit?" I asked again, the stress and worry evident in my tone.

"Pretty bad," Essex answered, and I could see by the look on his face that he wasn't kidding.

"Where can I find Vega?"

"He's… uh… uh…" Essex could only point in a direction, his over-clocked amp scrambling coherent thought. "Command…post."

"You've done good, soldier," I said, putting a hand on his shoulder. "Now, sit down and take 5. Cavalry's here."

"Need…hold this corner," Essex said, trying to regain his feet. "Orders…"

"You lot," I said to my squad. "Hold this corner and wait for Javik to rendezvous with us. I'll push on to the Command post."

Reyna opened her mouth to protest, but then shut it after catching a look from Morinth. The Ardat-Yakshi charged her submachine gun and nodded.

"We'll hold them here, Ko'le," she said.

I looked over and nodded at Leng, who merely smiled and activated his cloaking device. I could see him moving to high ground to obtain a better vantage point. I turned and made my way towards the Command Center, in the direction Essex had pointed. I opened my Omni-Tool to check in on the others.

"All squads, this is Seneschal. Sit-Rep?"

" **This is Archangel,"** Garrus' voice answered first. **"Encountered some heavy resistance, but nothing we can't handle. North side secured, for now."**

" **This is Vengeance,"** Javik replied next, **"The Fallen have retreated, for now, but we are currently encountering waves of human husks. West Side holding."**

" **Shepard here,"** the Spectre answered. "We've secured the Command Center and the Communications tower. Ko'le…"

"Ash is there, I know," I answered. "I'm on my way to you now."

" **Ko'le…it's bad…"**

"Save it, Shepard!" I snapped, then closed my Omni-Tool. I closed my eyes and focused my biotics, _willing_ myself down the street. I _blitzed forward_ in a series of biotic charges, until I found the building I was looking for.

There were three or four colonists, in cheap standard-issue riot gear.

 _Maybe Mark One_ _shield generators, and Avenger assault rifles…_

More than that, I noticed that they looked scared out of their wits. And that those rifles were pointed at me.

"HOLD FIRE! That's a friendly, you dumb shits!" I heard Jack call, the human biotic coming around the corner _._ She looked me up and down coldly.

"Ko'le."

"Where is Shepard?" I asked, and I was surprised by how hollow my voice sounded.

Wordlessly she pointed to a pre-fab on the other side of the compound, but for _just_ a moment, there was a look in her eyes.

Pity, maybe?

A lump was in my throat and a weight was on my chest as I walked across to the large pre-fabricated warehouse.

 _Makes sense that they would use this as a hospital, I guess._

The door opened to reveal what appeared to be a room full of standing figures. On second glance, however, I could see the terror on their faces, and their eyes darting around the room, while their bodies remained motionless.

 _Zha'til Swarm_ : _frozen in place_.

 _Poor devils…_

On the other side of the room, I could see several rows of cots. Standing next to one of them was Shepard, helmet in hand. At first I rushed over, but then slowed as I got closer.

Do you remember the way Ash looks after the mission to mars in ME:3?

It was like that, but _way_ worse.

"Is she…?" I managed to gasp.

"Stable for now," Shepard said, never taking her eyes away from her former crewmate. "They said she took on a... one of those heavy units the Collectors deploy."

"Praetorians?"

"Yeah," Shepard said, nodding. "Took it down single-handed, to hear them talk. She hasn't woken up since that Lieutenant… (what's his name?) Vega, brought her back here."

"I know of him," I admitted. "He's a good man: good soldier."

"Mordin says it's a miracle she's still alive."

"Heh," I chuckled, "How many of us can that be said for, Commander? You? Me? Javik? Garrus? Jack? We're a goddamn miracle bunch, just the way Ashley liked it."

"You know," Shepard said, picking up her sniper rifle again, "If she were awake, she'd be telling us how this is all God's plan, to bring us all back together. She'd be telling us the guardian angels were watching over us all."

"Guardian angels are about four and a half hours late," I said mirthlessly. "The closest thing to gods involved in this scenario are still trying to overrun this colony."

I reached out and took a hand in hers.

" **Joker to** _ **Normandy**_ **away-team: Commander, you there?"** came the voice of the Normandy's pilot.

"Go ahead, Joker," Shepard answered.

" **Ma'am, the Collector ship! We've hurt it, and badly: They're calling it quits!"**

We rushed to the window to look to the east, where, sure enough, the hulking figure of the Collector ship could be seen rising up above the horizon. Black plumes of smoke were coming from the gaping holes just above the engines.

"Joker, return to the colony," Shepard instructed, "Inform Chakwas and the medical team that we have multiple wounded here in critical condition."

"Commander…" I started to protest, but stopped when she whirled around to face me.

"We have achieved our primary objective: to protect the colony. But I am _not_ losing a friend because I couldn't make it in time."

I nodded slowly, accepting the logic of the argument. The Collectors' ship was damaged, and damaged badly. They wouldn't be attacking any more colonies anytime soon. Now was the time to focus on personnel and the ones we could save.

" _Indomitable_ , break off pursuit and resume orbital patrols above the colony," I said into my own Omni-Tool.

" **Your will,** _ **Seneschal**_ **."**

Shepard turned toward me.

"I should coordinate the _Normandy_ 's and the colony's medical teams. Not a ton of wounded, just a lot of frozen people…"

I nodded.

"Unnerving, isn't it?" I asked. "I know it shook me, the first time I saw the effects of a Zha'til Swarm."

"Mordin said he's working on an antidote."

"Javik and I have given him all the information we could ever since he came on board. If he is half the scientist he boasts of, he should have no problem."

"I…give me a moment?"

Shepard nodded and walked out of the room. I knelt down and took one of the Ashley's pale, almost grey hands in my own. It took me back how clammy it was, and how cold… but for the almost imperceptible rise and fall of her chest, I would have thought the worst.  
I placed my other hand on her forehead, and my eyes went white.

 _Ashley._

 _I'm sorry I was late._

 _You were not supposed to be here. You were supposed to be safe and far away._

 _But I'm here now. You're going to be fine. You have to be. Shepard will need you. She can't do this without you._

 _Hang in there, Ash. I beg of you…._

 _ **Brother.**_

Javik's voice in the Mind-Share startled me back to the present, and I turned to see the Prothean enter the warehouse. He looked left, then right at the fifty or so frozen individuals, then strode towards me.

"Why have our ships broken off pursuit of the Fallen?" he asked, anger and frustration in his voice. "This is our chance to end this, here and now!"

"Brother," I replied, holding up a hand. "For all the damage she has sustained, the Collector's ship is still a dreadnaught. Once they got her into the air, their weapons systems would have come back online. We have but two frigates. Our primary mission was the saving of the colony. And there are many here in need of medical support."

Javik's anger still seethed, but I felt it abate.

"The Indomitable will also be able to track their jump to FTL," I continued. "Then we have a chance of following them to their base of operations. Otherwise, we have but one destroyed ship, with Father-knows how many more the Fallen have in their possession to deploy."

The red aura emanating from the Avatar of Vengeance faded. The tactical aspects of the plan could not be denied. He spun on his heel and walked out of the room without another word. Someone else might have mistook that for insubordination or the beginnings of tension between us. But Javik and I had fought together too long for that. He would stew, boil, and nurse his anger, but he'd come around. Just needed time.

"Ko'le to Shepard," I said, bringing my Omni-Tool back online. "Where is Vega?"

I found the Latino Lieutenant directing various colonists in clean-up duties on the outer defenses of the colony. Most of them entailed collecting their casualties and clearing the husk and Collector bodies that littered the streets.

"Hey Vega, what the hell is this?" one of the colonists was asking, examining a long cylinder in the middle of the road.

" _No se_ , Jamar," Vega answered, shrugging his shoulders.

"A stasis pod," I answered as I walked up. All eyes turned to me, surprise and mistrust mixed together in their stares. "The Collectors use them to transport their victims once they've paralyzed them."

"Must be getting lazy, what with taking all those other colonies without a shot fired," Vega said, casting a sidelong glance at the stasis pod. "Damn _putas_ weren't expecting us to put up such a good fight."

"Ko'le, Conclave frigate _Indomitable_ ," I introduced myself.

"2nd Lieutenant James Vega, Delta Squad, Alliance Marines, sir," Vega saluted first before taking my outstretched hand. "Sure as hell glad you guys arrived when you did. Wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't seen it with my own two eyes: Commander Shepard, in the flesh." He shook his head.

"You and your troops did a hell of a job, LT," I replied. "Any other colony would have folded like a paper bag ten minutes into the fighting. You held them off for the better part of five hours."

"Thanks to Veetor," James said modestly. "If that kid hadn't set that EMP off when he did, we would have all been frozen before we could raise a gun. We might've all – UUUGH!"

Suddenly Vega was hurling through the air, hitting a nearby wall with a _**thud**_. A panicked scream to my left was cut short with a gurgling cry, and I whirled to see a Collector withdraw its sword from a colonist's throat, black biotics still wreathing its left arm. Its eyes glowed a bright gold.

" **SENESCHAL. AND HERE I WAS AFRAID WE WOULDN'T HAVE THE CHANCE TO SPEAK."**

I drew my own sword _just_ in time to block the spinning attack Harbinger was unleashing, wings and legs outstretched. I ducked under one swing and slashed right, tearing through the fabric-like skin of his left wing.

"FUCK YOU, KAMUTAN!"

" **THIS FIGHT IS POINTLESS, BEAST. AS IS THIS BATTLE, AS IS THIS WAR. STRIKE DOWN THIS VESSEL. IT WILL ACCOMPLISH NOTHING."**

"The galaxy… will be short… one less asshole!" I said between pants, "And that is cause…enough!"

I blocked a downwards chop at my head, but couldn't avoid the savage kick that sent me on my back.

" **YOU WILL NOT SAVE MISS WILLIAMS, SENSESCHAL. ANYMORE THAN YOU COULD SAVE YOUR PRECIOUS EMPEROR. TELL ME: HOW DID HE DIE? WAS HE BRAVE AND NOBLE TO THE END? OR WAS HE BEGGING FOR MERCY, WITH TEARS AND PITIFUL CRIES?"**

I hauled myself to my feet, biotics flaring as I came forward.

" **OH, BUT I'M FORGETTING: YOU WEREN'T THERE, WERE YOU? YOU WERE SAFE, AWAY, AND ASLEEP IN A TOMB BUILT FOR YOUR BETTERS!"**

"SHUT UP!" I screamed, as I brought my blade up, severing the right arm from the body. With a roar of rage, I sent a warp that blasted Harbinger back across the courtyard. The husk rolled back to its feet again, its ruined wings flickering feebly. I walked forward, blade in hand.

"I have walked the World between Worlds, Monster. I have seen the Time between Times. I have traversed the Void itself to bring death to you and to your kind!"

The husk's _flickered_ , just once, as it gazed at its stump of a right arm. Then it raised its left at me as I advanced.

" **EMPTY WORDS AND AN HOLLOW VICTORY, SENESCHAL. RELEASING CONTROL…"**

The bright golden glow covered the Prothean husk, then it faded way into black ashes that scattered to the wind, even as I swung my sword through the cloud. The sounds of chuckling faded away into the evening.

I stood there for a few seconds, my hate and anger ebbing.

 _Vega_.

I turned and ran back over to where the marine had hit the wall, returning my blade to my back. Vega was grunting, attempting to brace himself against the rubble around him.

"Hold still, Marine," I said as I knelt beside him.

"Get me up!" he grunted. "I'll be fine, I just…"

"…have a bone sticking out of your leg," I finished for him, placing a hand on his shoulder. He let out a yelp of pain when I did so. "And a broken collarbone, by the feel of it."

I radioed for a stretcher, and after relaying a warning to the other crews to beware of any more Collectors playing dead, got Vega back into the medical wing. Mordin was applying a hypospray to the necks of several of the frozen individuals.

"Professor," I acknowledged as I approached.

"Ah, Ko'le," he nodded, pulling out a spare hypospray and handing it to me. "Good to have you here. Here, apply at base of the neck. Collector neurotoxin targets nerve endings. Best injection site for treatment."

"You were able to concoct an antidote, then?" I asked.

"Oh, yes," he answered, continuing to move from victim to victim. "Once in possession of live Collector toxin, simple chemistry to develop antidote. Creating vaccine: greater challenge. Requires tests. Yes, multiple tests. Full lab onboard _Normandy._ Easier to develop there."

"AHHHHHHHH!" one of the frozen people, a young girl about fifteen years old, by the look of her, suddenly came unfrozen, and dropped to the ground in a seizing fit. Mordin rushed over to assist. Raw panic was in her eyes, and her breath was coming in heaving gasps.

"Unexpected reaction," he observed matter-of-factly. "Potentially problematic."

He administered another hypospray and the girl slowly stopped shaking and drifted off to sleep.

"Couple antidote with mild sedative," Mordin nodded in confirmation. "Much reduced chance of traumatic shock."

"Noted," I replied, adding a secondary administration channel to the hypospray I already held for the sedative Mordin was passing me. "Chakwas took Ashley into surgery? I noticed her cot was gone."

"Surgery?" Mordin asked. "Oh, yes. Lt. Williams is being treated now, along with Lt. Vega. Wonderful lady, Karin. Tactical mindset, brilliant surgeon. Can see why Shepard values her inclusion in the crew."

A furrow appeared on his brow.

"Estimate every hope of success for Lt. Williams. Know of your past romantic history..."

"Thank you, Professor," I said appreciatively. "Wait, how did you…"

"STG keeps quite the file on you, _Seneschal_ ," Mordin answered with a ghost of a smile. "Recordings. Video surveillance. Quite impressive."

 _Recordings of… No…._

I paused for an uncomfortable moment, then shook my head chuckling.

 _There's_ _the Mordin from the game…_

" **Seneschal?"**

I answered the call from my Omni-Tool. "Go ahead, _Indomitable_."

" **We have six signatures incoming. All Alliance. Corvettes SSV** _ **Hawking, Excelsior,**_ **and** _ **Intrepid.**_ **Frigates SSV** _ **Botany Bay**_ **and** _ **Ye Sun-Sin**_ **. Dreadnaught-class SSV** _ **Kilimanjaro**_ **."**

"Very good," I confirmed. "Relay IFF signature and establish communication. Bring them up to speed on the current situation and request medical support for the colony. _When_ they ask about our presence, we acted under Article 12 of the Fraternal Treaty between the Galactic Conclave and the Citadel Council."

" **Understood, sir."**

I switched over to the _Normandy_ 's channel. "Shepard?"

" **Go ahead, Ko'le."**

"Brace yourself: Your mother has just arrived. And she's brought the cavalry."

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

 **Well everyone, I give to you: the next chapter of Beacon's Effect: Awakening. Sorry for those of you who've been waiting, I just got finished moving into my new apartment, and finally unpacked the box that held my laptop and all my writing notes! (YAY for the moving process!) Thank you all for the kind and supportive reviews and PM's so far!  
Hope you all enjoyed it, and please, as always, let me know what you think: good or bad! Even if it's just as simple as, "Good job, I liked it," your reviews always make my day! ROCK ON!**

 **\- Tusken1602**

* * *

Reviewer Responses:

Blaze1992, stormdragon981, Pietersilie – Yeah, Jack is still kinda settling into the rhythm of the crew. It will take awhile, but it will be fun to watch, I hope!

Squadpunk 2.0, Tahkaullus01, griezz, general-joseph-dickson, ThemyThink, ASCN – Murphey's Law will always come back to bite you in the ass. But anyways, it's bad luck to be superstitious…right?

MrBogus, BrotherCaptainSheperd – Oh, don't worry, my friends. We will see Javik vs. Ko'le before the end of the story.

tamagat, Kebarton, Asahar4 – Yeah, the last half of Paragon Lost never happened in Ko'le's AU. As for what will occur between Vega and Williams… we'll have to wait and see.

Zeru'Xil – I imagine that Saints Row would be a popular game on Tuchanka… Along with GTA.

Appbeza – There is a bit of a disconnect between Javik and the rest of the crew. He may be "Less Grumpy Javik" but he is still grumpy.

Alucard Bellsing – I guess chapter answers your question. :-)

Toothless is best – I did… *evil chuckle*

KyuubiNodachi – I have given serious thought to a Drot-centered mini-series, actually. If more people like you would be interested, I may post some of my mini-stories. Maybe as a series of one-shots…

Anny-Rudolph – That's actually a good question! It all depends on how AU we'll be by the time we get to ME:3…

BJ Hanssen – Yeah, most of Kai Leng's challenge in the game is his ability to disappear. Every time he actually has to _fight_ , he generally gets his ass kicked or runs away when things get tough (i.e. Thane, Miranda, Thessia, Shepard).

Lord Mortem, Guest, Elvisfonz23, jackli10345 – Thanks, everybody! Glad you liked it, and hope to give you more soon!

* * *

May the Father below accept you when your times comes, and until then, may the Mother keep you always.

EE-RAH!


	12. Chapter 12: Battle's Aftermath

***FREEDOM'S PROGRESS*  
CANTON, FRONTIER SYSTEM  
OLYMPIAN NEBULA**

Well, it was time to face the music. At least two dozen shuttles could be seen coming over the distant hilltops. Shepard's fist clenched and unclenched with nervous energy.

"Relax," I said in a monotone voice. "Everything's going to be ok…"

"How the hell do you know that?" Shepard asked quietly.

"I'm talking to myself, Shepard," I replied, grinning.

Shepard shot me a dark glare.

"Ass."

"Don't be jealous. Yours is the one about to be handed to you."

That earned me a punch to the shoulder, but I had succeeded in making her smile. Sure enough, the shuttle touching down in front of us had " _SSV Kilimanjaro"_ emblazoned on the side. The doors opened and two squads of Alliance Marines exited, weapons at the ready. And walking in-between them in full battle armor was the Butcher of Torfan: Hannah Shepard. Her face was impassive, and her voice was a vacuous calm.

"Commander Shepard," she said, as if it was the most ordinary thing in the world to suddenly run into your long-dead daughter in the middle of a Collector-ridden colony in the middle of Terminus Systems.

"Captain Shepard," Shepard responded, snapping to attention, matching her mother's voice.

"Rear-Admiral," the Shepard matriarch corrected, firmly but not harshly. Sure enough, on her shoulder was the single-star indicator of her new rank.

 _Consummate professionals, the Shepard family…_

"Seneschal," the newly-promoted Rear-Admiral Shepard acknowledged simply.

"Admiral," I replied with a nod of my head.

"Report," Hannah Shepard said, walking towards the Command Center. Shepard and I fell in on either side of her.

"Enemy dreadnaught landed on outskirts of colony, Admiral," Shepard rattled off in a crisp, military fashion. "Attempted biological attack on the colony, which was thwarted by a quarian worker setting off an EMP to disable the synthetic vector of the paralytic. Lieutenants Williams and Vega organized a colonial resistance force that held off enemy forces for the better part of five hours. Collectors scrambled communications, but the _Normandy_ and _Indomitable_ were able to pick up a fragmented distress call. We responded, attacking grounded enemy ship. Being vulnerable on the ground, the ship retreated to orbit, leaping to FTL, heavily damaged. Robbed of reinforcements and resupply points, the remaining enemy units were neutralized."

We entered the hospital wing, moving past the beds and cots. Several of them had the sheets pulled over the faces of their occupants. Just on the other side of the building, the recently unfrozen colonists were mostly lying the on ground, some with family members gathered around them. Sobs of relief and joyful reunion mingled with those of grief and loss. Hannah Shepard looked around, surveying the situation, before she turned back to the Commander.

"Casualties?"

"Eighty-seven dead, one-hundred and thirty-one wounded, including Williams and Vega."

Admiral Shepard nodded, then turned to me.

"The first priority must be to get the wounded to the _Botany Bay_ , our hospital ship. My first officer will coordinate shuttle services from the colony to the ship with the medical triage team here."

I nodded as we walked up the stairs to the Command Center. It was currently unoccupied, as all electronic systems were still down. The Admiral looked round the room, then continued,

"Second, we have to get this colony's systems back to operational. The enemy may return, and in greater numbers. We must be prepared for the worst."

"Wise words, Admiral," I replied, "I already have my engineers working to do just that. But additional support from your ships would of course be welcomed."

Rear-Admiral Shepard lifted her right arm, and her Omni-Tool came to life. My own Omni buzzed, as did Shepard's.

"I've patched you into our Communications network," she said. "Coordinate with my officers to get what this colony requires."

"Aye-aye, ma'am," I answered, already running through logistics and equipment needed, and how to arrange to transfer the grievously wounded first.

There was a moment's pause, and I looked up from my Omni-Tool to find both women staring at me.

Pointedly.

 _Oh._

"I'll go…do…that…now," I said, taking the hint. I turned and headed back down the stairs, closing the door behind me. As I sent off holo-message after holo-message to the various Alliance and Conclave crews, I stood guard at the bottom of the stairs, determined to give the mother and daughter some semblance of privacy.

Liara came around the corner, looking at her Omni-Tool.

"Oh, hey Ko'le, have you seen Shepard?" she asked.

I turned and nodded towards the stairs, but then stuck out a hand to stop her from going past me.

"Her mother's up there with her."

Liara's eyes grew wide and she stared at the stairs leading to the Command Center.

"Goddess…"

* * *

* **REBECCA SHEPARD***

It took a second for Ko'le to take the hint, but when he did, he visibly started and started backing slowly away.

"I'll go…do…that…now," he said, desperately searching for a dignified exit.

My mother just raised an eyebrow at him, denying him that dignity. Forced to cut his losses, Ko'le apparently decided to make a full retreat, turning and closing the door behind him.

Leaving me in a room with my mother.

The mother who left me and my dad on Mindoir to pursue her own military career.

The mother who I personally witnessed gun down defenseless batarian men, women, and children on Torfan.

The mother who I haven't spoken to in seven years.

The mother who has thought I was dead for the past two years, and didn't even bat an eye when she saw me at the landing pad.

 _Frozen, emotionless bitch. Butcher of Torfan, indeed._

 _No._

 _I'm done letting her get to me._

"Before you say anything," I began, but before I could say another word, my mother had closed the distance between us and wrapped her arms around me. I stiffened, dumbstruck.

My mother didn't hug. My mother _never_ hugged.

My mother didn't even hug me when they brought me back to Mindoir, along with my father's casket. Even with my arms around her waist, she had just stood there, staring at my father's corpse, arms at the 'at rest' position at the small of her back.

I had no idea what to do.

"Ich dachte, ich hätte dich verloren, kind."  
 _I thought I'd lost you, kid._

She was speaking German, an old Earth language.

Dad's language.

He had insisted that we speak it in our home on Mindoir. Something about the "remember the old country." At the time I had thought it was a little weird, but it became our thing growing up.

 _Our_ language.

I hadn't heard Mom speak German since she left us.

My hands slowly came up and gingerly rested on my mother's shoulder blades. The words came to my mind effortlessly, but my voice strained to speak them.

"Das dachte ich auch, Mutter."  
 _I thought so too, Mom._

Her arms tightened around me.

"Ich habe dich so vermisst. Es tut mir so leid."  
 _I missed you so much. I'm so sorry._

I couldn't believe what I was hearing: The Queen She-Bitch of the Alliance, apologizing to _me_ , of all people. Admitting the possession of _feelings_.

If this was a cheesy novel or a video game, this would have been the time I started crying and we just held each other. Or some other romantic bullshit like that. But, I'm sorry to say, I didn't do any of that. I didn't know what to say, or what to do. Finally, my mom released me and pulled away.

 _Gott in Himmel_ , _those were_ _tears_ _in her eyes._

"So…how?" she said, trying to regain her composure. "How is this possible?"

I took a deep breath.

 _Here goes nothing…_

I started at the beginning, from what Liara and Ko'le had told me, and from Miranda had shared of the Lazarus Project with me. As I talked about the cybernetics, Mom reached out a hand to touch my cheek. I pulled back, instinctively. As I did so, a look of regretful pain crossed her face for _just_ a moment, but it was unmistakable all the same.

"What… _happened_ while I was gone?" I finally asked. "We haven't spoken in…in…"

"Years," Hannah finished for me, nodding. "Has Ko'le told you about our little run-in on Haestrom?"

I nodded. "He mentioned that it happened, but that's about it."

Hannah nodded again, glancing at the floor.

"I meet that Rachni Queen you saved on Noveria."

"Harmony-from-Chaos."

"The same. She…gave me condolences for my daughter's death. 'Mother with mother,' she said. And she… _shared_ with me a portion of the pain."

"You mean like, psychically? Meld-like?"

"Sort of," my mother said, shaking her head. "But in that moment, it all hit me: How monumental of a failure I'd been, as a wife…and a mother. I'd let my family down…and now that family was gone. I thought I was alone. And I remember _wishing_ upon wish that I could go back and do it all again: that I could have a second chance. That'd I do it _better_."

I took a long breath in. Hannah didn't fail to see the reaction.

"I know things have been… _rough_ …between us," she continued. "And I know I've sure got a hell of a lot to make up for. But I want you to know…I want to _try…_ if you want."

 _Fuck._

 _What the hell do you say to something like that?_

"And I know you've got your… _mission_ , or whatever Anderson's given you to do," my mother said. "But, if this all works out…I'd like to start making amends…no, not amends," she added quickly, seeing my nostrils flare. "A new start: a fresh start."

I managed a single, stunned nod. She reached out and patted my shoulder, uneasily, and I realized:

 _She doesn't know how to do this either_ …

"Ok. So let's get these people safe," she said, and started to move for the door.

"Mom?"

She froze and slowly turned back to look at me.

"I've… I've thought about us a lot, too."

Her eyebrows went up.

"And?"

"At the end there…when I thought I was going to…when I _did_ die…all I kept thinking about is how much I wished we were a better family…and what _I_ would have done differently."

Her eyes teared up again, and she stepped forward, arms open. This time, I returned her embrace.

"Then let's restart this clusterfuck of a relationship, honey," she said, chuckling slightly, but I felt a tear brush against my own cheek. I nodded, feeling a tightness in my own throat.

 _This must be what Jane felt: seeing people she knew, but didn't know._

 _Oh, Scheiße, Jane_!

"Uh, Mom? One more thing you should know…"

* * *

 ***KO'LE***

The door opened behind me, and I whirled around to see Shepard exit. Sans her mother. At my inquisitive look, she simply smiled and nodded.

"She says she wants to see you."

 _FUCK. A. DUCK._

"Should I be worried?" I asked with no slight amount of trepidation.

"I don't think so," Shepard answered, "She took it all rather well. She's trying to coordinate supplies from the fleet. Wanted to know your logistical capabilities on the _Indomitable_."

"Alright, no problem," I said as I walked up the stairs. Behind me, I heard Liara asking Shepard how it went. As tempted as I was to know myself, I resolved to ask Shepard about it later. I opened the door to the Command Center….

And got an armored fist to my face.

Aside from completely blindsiding me, that _fucking_ hurt. And I've been punched by drunk Urdnot Wrex.

Another hand grabbed my armor and pulled into the room, slamming the door behind me.

 _Shit. shit. shitshit_

I had caught myself as I fell, but was still reeling from the first punch when the knee came up into my gut.

"THE FUCK YOU THINK YOU ARE, KO'LE?" came the angry voice of the Butcher of Torfan.

"Admiral…" I began, but got another punch to the jaw.

"You have _my daughter_ on ice for _two years_ , and you say _nothing to me_?"

"There was no guarantee…"

"SHUT UP!"

Another punch.

"She is the Hero of the Citadel. She is the Lioness of Elysium. But she is also _my little girl_. I deserved to bury more than an empty box. She was _not_ your god-fucking-damn LAB RAT!"

Another punch. A black cloud was descending on my vision, and the rear-admiral's voice was growing farther and farther away…

"And on top of ALL FUCKING THAT, you decided to GROW a FUCKING clone, JUST IN CASE?! YOU MOTHER...FUCKING..."

Two punches.

"Who the FUCK do you think you are, to decide who lives, and who dies?"

An armored hand came up and caught the fist that was descending on my face. I then heard a voice speaking.

" **WHO AM I?"**

 _FUCK._

 _NO, Beast, no, no, no!_

My other hand came up and caught the Alliance officer in the throat with blinding speed, lifting her off the ground.

 _BEAST, don't do it!_

" **I am the only fucking being this universe that gives a** _ **shit**_ **whether your people live or die. From the moment I arose, I have done nothing but work for the people of this cycle's highest good."**

Hannah Shepard lifted up in the air, wreathed in black biotic energy. Her eyes were wide with surprise and fear. An odd thing, coming from the Butcher of Torfan…

" **But my words have gone ignored, and my warnings unheeded. So yes, Hannah Shepard, I brought back the only voice that this miserable primitive galaxy would listen to! DO NOT PRETEND to suddenly care about this girl whom you consistently** _ **abandoned**_ **in favor of your own career! DO NOT dishonor the memory of your dead mate by pretending you LOVED either of them! YOU LOST the right to have a say in her fate long ago…"**

 _Ok, Beast, she gets the point! Now put her down! Ko'le, do something!_

 _Beast, listen to Kevin!_

" **WHO AM I, THAT I PLAY GOD?"**

 _Let her GO, damn you!_

" **I AM BEAST. I was born in war, and lived and breathed destruction and death upon a dozen worlds whose names your people have long forgotten! I have faced horrors that you could not dream up in your worst nightmares…"**

 _Beast! ENOUGH_ _!_

 _STOP IT!_

" **I AM THE VOICE OF THE THRONE THAT ONCE RULED THIS GALAXY.**

 **I am the lone Light in the Darkness: THE ONLY SWORD between you and the VOID.**

 **I AM THE HAND OF THE ELDER GODS!**

 **AND YOU AND YOUR KIND WILL** **BOW** **to the likes of ME!"**

The door flew open and a body in Conclave armor dove at Beast in a flying tackle. Distracted while fighting Ko'le and I for control, Beast had no time to react. Jane blocked a half-hearted punch from Beast and seized both sides of my head. Her eyes went black as she spoke, and her voice was deep and otherworldly:

" _Eeh deCoum NoS meH!"_

And then all went to blissful darkness.

* * *

 **A/N: Just a short chapter this week, everybody, but I'm gonna do my best to have at least one update a week. Not a promise, just a personal goal of mine.  
So…a hellova lot went down this week. Butcher meets Lioness meets Beast. BAD combination.  
Hope you guys enjoy it, and if you do, or have any thoughts/concerns/ideas/constructive criticisms, put it in a review and send it to me! I live off of those notifications some days. I actually go back and read them from time to time, as a reference to how far along this journey I've come! **

**Even if it's as simple as "Good job" or "I liked it," it means the world to me!  
ROCK ON, EVERYBODY! **

**\- Tusken1602**

* * *

Reviewer Responses:

Zeru'Xil, Lord Mortem – I was actually tempted to do just that. But in my later drafts, I realized I still have plans for the future Major Williams… as for the change of pairing, I can say that it WILL happen, but as to with WHO, you'll have to wait and see… :-)

Bearmauls – I actually did that on purpose (have Ko'le call everyone to battle stations four hours early), as a way to try and communicate how illogical he is when it comes to the people he loves…

Squadpunk 2.0, Nagato21, Tahkaullus01, BrotherCaptainSheperd, redcollector – Hope I delivered…

BJ Hanssen – That's actually pretty spot-on analysis of Leng! A lot of aspects I hadn't even thought about!

Mr. Bogus– Well, Jane did just save her "Mom's" life, so they have _that_ to talk about, at least…

griezz , Toothless is best – Love that idea. Put a pin in that!

tamagat – I think Ko'le will stick with the _Indomitable_ for now (because of its stealth capabilities), but don't worry: EPIC-ness on the way!

Blaze1992 – I didn't want Ash joining the Suicide Mission (for several reasons) but I also no longer had the excuse that "You're with Cerberus" that the game did. So…grievous injury it was. *Author moment*

Pietersielle, general-joseph-dickson, Elvisfonz23, Guest, Biorr the Old, dtrammell95 – Thanks, you guys! Y'all are awesome! :D :D :D

* * *

May the Father below accept you when your times comes, and until then, may the Mother keep you always.

EE-RAH!


	13. Chapter 13: Unto the Breach

***FREEDOM'S PROGRESS*  
**

"The _fuck_ were you thinking, Mom?!" screamed Rebecca Shepard, grabbing two handfuls of her hair and pacing back and forth. "You just _fucking assaulted_ the commander of the armed forces of the Conclave! JESUS H. CHRIST, _why!?"_

Hannah Shepard opened her mouth to speak, but Dr. Chakwas laid a hand on the rear-admiral's chest.

"You're still having some dysphonia from your crushed larynx, Admiral. Even if your vocal chords _weren't crushed_ right now, I'd advise against talking for the moment," she said, giving the Commander a meaningful glare. "Give the treatment a chance to work first."

"Was it because of _me?"_ Rebecca asked.

Hannah said nothing, but stared darkly at her daughter. Rebecca's eyes went wide.

" _JESUS_ , mom, the man brings your daughter _back from the dead_ , and your way of saying 'Thank you' is to punch him into unconsciousness? If Jane hadn't come in here, either you would've killed _him_ or he would've _killed you!"_

She shut her eyes tightly, holding up a hand.

"Do. You. EVER. THINK before throwing a punch? Do you EVER try solving a problem with ANYTHING but brute force?"

Hannah Shepard still said nothing, but her eyes spoke volumes. There was anger there, still, but there was also a hint of regret, and maybe the tiniest ounce of shame.

"I'm just… I'm _trying_ to fight an enemy that before today, everyone (and I mean _everyone_ ) in the galaxy thought was a myth, and you go and incapacitate one of the only people in the galaxy who possesses valuable intel, actually wants to help, and _oh yeah_ IS THE ONLY FUCKING REASON I'M STILL STANDING HERE ALIVE!"

Hannah shook her head, signing the letter "J."

"Jane had to say the safe word because, for some reason that's unfathomable to me, she has this deep feeling of connection to _us,"_ Rebecca retorted. "If she hadn't, there'd be a lot worse than crushed larynxes. I have seen the man CRUSH KROGAN with his biotics, Mom!"

She leaned back against the wall, pressing her fingers into her eyes in exasperation.

" _Great_ fresh start, Mom. Looks a hellova lot like the old one…"

That caused Hannah Shepard to break eye contact and lower her gaze. She closed her eyes and nodded slowly, putting a hand on her chest.

"I...I… I have to go try and sort out this mess," Commander Shepard exclaimed. She walked to the door, then turned back.

" _Try_ and keep galactic diplomatic incidents to a minimum, _Admiral_."

Outside, Liara was leaning against a pillar, sorting through data on her Omni-Tool. At the sight of her lover, the Shadow Broker deactivated the device and fell in stride along Shepard.

"Are you OK?" she asked.

"ME?" Rebecca asked incredulously. "I'm _fine_. My mother, on the other hand, just assaulted the closest thing the Conclave has to a central leader, who then when all "Sith Dark-Side" and tried to murder her in turn! And my clone sister got introduced to my mom in perhaps the MOST inopportune way possible! But yeah, Liara, _I'm_ fine."

She took a deep breath and then rubbed her forehead again.

"I'm sorry, Liara. I shouldn't have snapped like that…It's just that…for a second, I _actually_ thought things were going to be different between me and my mom."

Liara put an arm on her lover's shoulder.

"Her reaction, while, morally questionable, _is_ understandable…when you think about it."

Her eyebrows furrowed.

"What do you mean by 'Sith Dark-Side'? Is that one of your people's religious myths?"

Shepard smiled.

"Close enough. If we ever get a moment free on the _Normandy_ , remind me to show you."

The pair made it to the docked _Indomitable_. Tallaxis was standing at the bottom of the gangplank, in conversation with several other Alliance officers. When he saw the pair approach, however, he turned and bowed low, in the hanar fashion.

"This one gives you both greetings, Commander Shepard. Doctor T'Soni."

"Is Ko'le on board?" Shepard asked.

"The Imperator has gone to the outskirts of the colony, along with Avatar Javik and Miss Reyna," Tallaxis answered. "The Avatar was not specific as to when they would return. The Imperator was still unconscious, so details were unforthcoming from him as well."

Shepard suppressed a smile at the droll statement of fact.

"Do you know where Jane is?" Liara asked.

Tallaxis simply lifted an armored tentacle, pointing to a pile of supply crates. The clone was seated on one of them, head in hands. She glanced up to see Rebecca and Liara walking towards her. She moaned and put her head back down in her hands.

"Oh _God, shoot me now_."

"It's not…that…bad," Rebecca offered, somewhat unhelpfully.

"Becca, if I had to _invent_ a worse way to meet… _your_ mom, I don't think I could," Jane said.

"You mean other than saving her life?" Liara asked. "We all know Ko'le…or Beast…whoever it is we're dealing with here, could've killed her. If you hadn't said the safewords…"

"That's just it, Liara," Jane said. "I didn't."

"Wait, what?"

"I didn't say that phrase. I don't know the phrase. I was never _told_ the phrase. Hell, I can't even _remember_ whatever the fuck I said! I just remember tackling Ko'le, with no clear idea of what I was gonna do next, and then suddenly I went…cold."

Rebecca sat down next to her clone, Liara on the other side.

"What do you mean?" the Commander asked.

"I mean, physically, _cold_. As in 'Never-thought-I'd-be-warm-again' cold. And then I heard a voice say… _something_. Then it was like a fog lifted, and there was Ko'le, the man who had given me my life, lying unconscious, and there was Mom, just _staring_ …like I was some kind of… _monster_. Like, 'how DARE I steal her daughter's face' kind of monster. I didn't ASK to be made, Becca! I didn't ASK for your face! I didn't…"

Rebecca grabbed Jane's shoulders and drew her tightly for a hug.

"I know…I know…"

Liara placed a supportive hand on Jane's back, gently patting as the sobs came.

* * *

 ***KEVIN TROY***

"THE FUCK were you thinking, BEAST?"

Standing in the vast whiteness of my Mind Palace, I paced back and forth, trying my best to tear out handfuls of hair. "You just fucking… _Assaulted_ a rear admiral of the Alliance!"

Beast stood there, arms folded across his chest.

" **She would have killed us, Kevin. And you would have** _ **let it happen**_ **."**

"Nobody was gonna kill anybody, you dumb fuck! She was _just_ angry that we hid her daughter from her! And she had every right to be!"

Beast took a step forward.

" **NO ONE has the right to beat us, Kevin. NO ONE HAS THE RIGHT TO HURT BEAST!"**

"Oh, so the only response is attempted murder, then, is that it?"

" **I WILL MEET FORCE WITH FORCE! I will OVERCOME violence with SUPERIOR VIOLENCE!"**

"ENOUGH! BOTH OF YOU!"

Reyna suddenly stood between us, her hands on both of our chests, shoving us back.

"You two will _sit down_ and be _civil_ , or Vine-Father help me, I will sever this connection and leave you both a comatose corpse in the foothills of Freedom's Progress!"

The two of us stared at one another angrily, but we both took the chairs that had appeared for us.

"Well done, Reyna," Ko'le said, appearing clad, not in the battle armor that Beast sported, but in the full dress robes of the _Seneschal_. Which made me feel _utterly_ underdressed in my Firefly T-Shirt and raggedy blue jeans. "May I take it from here?"

Reyna nodded, probably glad to cede control of this confrontation to someone else. _ANYONE_ else.

"Let's just take a moment and reexamine what has gone down so far, shall we?"

"It's simple," I said, "I'm trying to build an army of allies, and Beast keeps on FUCKING IT UP!"

" **You are so afraid of offending anyone, that you will allow yourself to be stepped on and trod under!"**

"Oh, so I should just start murdering anyone who looks at me sideways, is that it?"

"Kevin…Beast," Ko'le mollified, "You are both equally right AND wrong."

He turned to Beast.

"To a dagger, all problems look like throats."

Beast grunted and turned away. Ko'le turned to me.

"He who tries to please everyone will only succeed in making himself everyone's slave."

I winced.

"I'm not…" I started to say, but Ko'le just raised a hand to stop me.

"Now," Ko'le said, beckoning the two of us closer. "We need to arrive at a synthesis, or at the very least, a consensus. Kevin fears that Beast is too violent…"

"…because he is," I muttered, earning a glare from Ko'le.

"…and Beast fears that Kevin is too pacifist."

"… **you mean** _ **weak**_ ," Beast said, making eye contact with me.

"Arguing about this will do us no good, and in fact will do a considerable amount of harm," Ko'le continued undaunted. "Do both of you trust _Me?"_

"Yes," I said, nodding. Beast pursed his lips, but nodded also.

"Then I'm asking you to channel _me_ , when things get rough. I can curb Beast's more…pugilistic tendencies, Kevin, but I also will not allow anyone to harm you without consequence, Beast."

There was a moment of silence.

"We MUST do this," Ko'le insisted, turning to Beast, "Or else all of those we loved will have died for nothing. Their graves will serve but silent reminders of _our failure_."

Beast recoiled at that, but then gathered himself together, and then nodded resolutely. Ko'le then turned to me.

"Or else those whom we _do_ love will have nothing but a future of pain and loss, and eventually…extinction."

Images flashed before me.

 _The screams of a colonist, impaled on a Dragon's Tooth._

 _The screech of a Banshee in the Ardat-Yakshi Monastery._

 _The roar of a Cannibal, patching itself with the armor of its fallen comrades._

 _The howls of Marauders as they charge forward, guns and claws at the ready._

 _Harvesters filling the skies and Ravagers pouring from the belly of a landing Reapers._

"ENOUGH!" I hear my voice cry. Ko'le's hand in on my shoulder to steady me as I step back. I nod, shaking a stray tear from my eye.

"Good," Ko'le says, giving me shoulder a squeeze. "Then come, and let us go from this place, as one. Remember _why_ we do this: To SAVE THEM ALL."

Beast interlocked arms with Ko'le and I, and suddenly, all of our eyes turned white.

" **WE FIGHT, THAT OTHERS MAY LIVE IN PEACE.**

 **WE WILL GLADLY GIVE OUR LIFE, THAT OTHERS MAY LIVE.**

 **I WILL GIVE MY ALL, FOR THE SAKE OF ALL.**

 **SO MOTE IT BE…"**

* * *

 ***KO'LE***

I opened… _my eyes_ … to find myself lying in the middle of a meadow. Vines had grown around me, almost like a living sarcophagus. At my feet, I saw Javik kneeling in a meditative pose. I looked up, and there was Reyna, just opening her eyes with a startled gasp.

"Hey," I said, trying to shake free of the foliage around me. "Hey, calm down…it's ok."

Reyna locked eyes with me, then slowly exhaled.

"Sorry…just…not used to this yet."

She reached out and grabbed the vine. The branches bend and twisted, opening my organic sarcophagus. Uneasily, I stood to my feet, helped up by Javik's offered hand.

"Well done, Queen-of-Joy-and-Laughter," Javik said, addressing the Thorian Seedling who was still looking a bit unsteady on her feet. Reyna nodded in acknowledgement.

"It was…nothing, _Seneschal_ ," she said, but then reeled, and would have fallen had we not caught her.

" _Sa,_ easy there, little one," I said. "A Vine-Speak can be draining to the untrained. Send your roots down, little one. Drink deeply and regain your strength."

Gently, I let her sit down on the ground. Reyna took one of her gloves off, then laid her palm down on the soil beneath her. I saw her fingers dig into the dirt, and a healthy shade of green began to spread across her body, slowly, beginning at her hand and moving up her arm. Satisfied that she was well, Javik and I took a few steps away to give her some privacy.

"Well, what is our next move, brother?" Javik wondered. "I would counsel that we take our leave of this colony soon, given…recent events."

"Indeed," I agreed. "If you hadn't told Jane the safe-word, who knows what might have happened."

At that, Javik stared at me strangely.

"Brother… I did _not_ tell Jane anything. I assumed that _you had,_ when she brought you back to the ship."

"WHAT? Then how…That is a problem for later. Stay here with Reyna until she regains her strength, and then prepare the ship for departure."

I turned and started walking back towards the colony in the distance.

"I've had about enough of this colony…"

A few hours later, I was on one of the _Indomitable_ shuttles, docking with the _Botany Bay_. I'd rejoin my ship right before we went to FTL. Shepard had said that the _Normandy_ wouldn't be far behind us, and we'd rendezvous on Ilium.

Ilium.

A thousands scenarios started playing for the inevitable Samara/Morinth recruitment arc, not mention the Thane/Kolyat confrontation that was bound to happen.

"You know why Shepard is going to Ilium, Kolyat?" I asked the young drell in the co-pilot's seat beside me.

"Agent Tallaxis said something about an asari Justicar that she wanted to recruit, sir?" Kolyat asked, setting in our approach to the Alliance hospital ship.

I nodded.

"That, and there is a report of a certain former Illuminated Primacy agent who might have accepted a contract planet-side."

Kolyat stiffened, and I could almost _see_ the memories playing in front of his mind.

 _His father's many absences in his adolescence._

 _The violent death of his mother._

 _Thane Krios abandoning him with strangers, disappearing without a trace._

"Kolyat?" I finally asked. The young drell started and resumed his piloting.

"You don't have to worry about me and my father, sir," he said, bitterness steeping into his every word. "He's been dead to me a long time. As far as I'm concerned, he was never really alive."

He gently set the shuttle down in the _Botany Bay's_ hanger.

"It won't interfere with my work or my performance, sir."

"Kolyat," I said simply, as the drell started to turn and leave the cockpit. Kolyat turned slowly towards me, pain and betrayal clearly portrayed in his emotional aura. I stood and put a hand on his shoulder.

"You are that hurt little boy no longer. You are a Conclave agent, with the potential to be one of the best I've seen. You are a member of this crew, of _this_ family. Don't ever let anyone make you question that, especially yourself."

Kolyat nodded and drew himself up again.

"Don't worry about me, sir. I've got this."

I slugged him in the shoulder good-naturedly.

"Damn right you do."

I walked to the "Recovery" section of the medical frigate, going from room to room until I found the one I was looking for:

Ashley was reclining back, the cuts on her face covered with Medi-Patches. Both of her legs were in casts, the right one all the way up to the hip.

I came into the room and sat down beside her. She stirred uneasily, and her eyes cracked open.

"Hello, Galahad," she said in a small, tired voice, but the edges of her mouth curved into a smile.

"Hey, you," I said, taking one of her hands. "How you holding up?"

"Sorry, hon," she chuckled weakly, "I forgot to duck…"

I shook my head incredulously. "Ash, you and your squad held off a Collector attack for five hours. It's a wonder you're not dead. But you had to break that other Williams curse, I guess: A Williams has now led a successful defense of a colony…."

She squeezed my hand tightly as she wheezed.

"You…are…an…utter…Ass."

"I know… I know."

"I…when I thought I was dying…I…I saw the Skipper," Ashley said, resuming a more serious look, "She came and sat down next to my bed. I thought she was the angel God had sent to take me on the long journey, but then…she just smiled at me. Then I woke up in the operating room. Do you…do you think it just wasn't my time?"

I took a deep breath.

 _Here we go again…_

"I don't think it was your time…and she wasn't an angel, Williams. I _found her_."

Ashley's eyes went wide, and the _beep-beep_ of her vitals increased.

"It's a long story, and it's super complicated," I added quickly. "I didn't tell anyone…because…she's been on the brink of death ever since I found her. The odds of her recovering were a million to one, Ash. I couldn't do that to…you. To everyone."

Ash was just staring at me, with…disbelief stamped on her face.

"But then… _damn,_ against all odds, she pulled through. She's back on her feet. And we're gonna go kick some Collector ass for what they've done here."

Still no response.

"Ash? Say something…please?"

"H-h-how? We all… we all saw her get…spaced…"

"She coming here in just a little while," I reassured. "And she'll tell you more then."

Ashley's face was still a heart-rending mixture of confusion, hurt, and even a hint of betrayal. I attributed her moderate (non-violent) reaction to the concoction of post-surgery pain medications that were currently swimming through her system.

"Ash, I promise you: when this is all over, I'll find us a nice beach somewhere. We'll sit out on the waterfront, and I'll tell you everything.  
Nothing held back, and no holds barred.  
But right now, I've got to go put the fear of god into the bastards that did this to you. And make sure that they're in no position to attack another colony, EVER."

Ashley pulled my hand weakly, but still succeeded in drawing me closer. She placed her other hand on my chest.

"I'll hold you to that, Galahad."

Her words were groggy and I could see sleep reclaiming her, despite her most valiant efforts. As her eyes fluttered shut, I gently kissed her forehead, and then her lips.

"Rest well then, my lady. Rest well, for the battles to come."

I turned and saw a familiar face at the doorway. Vega's right arm was in a sling, and his right foot was in a cast, but leaning heavily on a crutch, he still managed a left-handed salute as I exited the room.

"Sir."

"At ease, for God's sake, Vega."

The big Latino nodded towards the door.

"How's she doing?"

"Still woozy from the meds, but everything looks promising," I confessed.

"She'll pull through, sir," Vega said confidently. "She's one tough _chica_."

"That she is," I agreed. Then I turned to face Vega.  
"I've got to go track down the assholes who did this, Lieutenant," I said. "If the Collectors think they can attack _our_ people and get away with it…"

"Then they've got another thing comin', sir," Vega finished for me. "I'll watch out for her, sir. We'd all be dead a dozen times over if it weren't for her."

He looked towards the sleeping figure on the bed with sincere admiration.

"I always thought the vids blew things a little larger than life. Good propaganda, ya know? Turns out they didn't even get the half of it with her…"

"You have no idea, Vega," I said, shaking my head. "You have no idea."

My Omni-Tool buzzed, with Kolyat notifying me that the _Indomitable_ was ready to make the jump to FTL whenever we rejoined them. I deactivated it with a sigh.

 _Once more unto the breach…_

"Take care of yourself while you're at it, Vega," I said, offering my left hand again, which he accepted. "You're a hell of a soldier."

"Will do, thank you, sir."

I walked back to the hanger bay with a heavy heart: How much of my conversation would Ash even remember? If she did, how would the news hit her when she was back on her feet? A thousand such questions bombarded my thoughts, all the way back over to my ship. I strode onto the Command Deck, the crew at their stations, running the calculations to make the jump through the Relay.

"Javik, take the conn," I said to the Prothean commander, who had taken his position to my right. Rising from my traditional captain's chair, Javik replacing me, I turned back to ascend the stairs up to my cabin. But one of my squadmates was waiting for me, standing outside the door to my quarters.

"Hello, Jane."

"Ko'le. You got a second?"

"For you? Always."

Jane followed me back into the cabin. We stood there awkwardly for a few moments.

"I'm sorry that your meeting your mother had to literally be over my unconscious body," I began.

Jane nodded, but raised her hand to stop me from continuing.

"That's…yeah. That's a rough first chapter in that book. But I didn't come up here to talk about that."

"I know," I said, bracing for the difficult question to come.

"Who WAS that…that…Voice? Javik didn't tell me that phrase, and neither did you. I'd never heard it before, but then…then…"

"My guess? The same Ones who woke you up from stasis and tried to use you to take over the _Normandy_ : The Leviathans."

Jane's hands curled into fists.

"I don't like the idea of anyone just…waltzing into my mind."

Then she suddenly looked up at me, eyes widening in realization.

"I mean…I mean…"

"Don't worry about it," I said. "I agree wholeheartedly with you. But at any rate, I'm glad that you did: If you hadn't come along when you did, things might have gotten far worse."

Jane nodded, but still seemed very shaken at the idea of being a puppet for the Leviathans at any moment.

"You might want to talk to Liara," I offered. "Or Reyna: they may be able to help you sort through the memories you have, and maybe…undo anything the Leviathans or Cerberus may have done to your subconscious."

"Huh," she replied, cocking her head thoughtfully. "Hadn't thought about that… thanks."

She turned towards the door, but paused.

"I'm…I hope this doesn't change anything between us…" she said uneasily.

"Why should it?" I asked. "You showed me today that you have my back, and won't hesitate to stop me if I'm doing something idiotically moronic. I don't know about you, but I find that extremely comforting. Thank you, Jane."

She visibly exhaled, a warm, grateful smile crossing her own face.

"You're welcome! I mean… um…anytime…. I mean… _Oh, God…_ "

She put her hand to her forehead and moaned as she left, closing the door behind her.

I shook my head, and turned back to the mission dossiers on my desk. On the top was a picture of an all-too-familiar asari Justicar.

 _Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more;  
Or close the wall up with our English dead._

 _Ilium, here we come…_

* * *

 **Author's Note: Hey, everyone! So the plan originally was for Ko'le to wake up on Ilium, and avoid all of the conversations that you've just finished. However, a lot of my betas, reviews and PMs convinced me to scrap that plan, as there was a ton of story progression that needed to happen here, after Freedom's Progress. Now, we're onto the next big adventure, which is Thane and Samara's recruitment on Ilium, and all the fun friends and faces we'll see there! Hopefully, I'll be able to stick to some sort of a schedule and have the next chapter out for you guys next week. I work best when I set deadlines for myself, and it challenges me to keep moving forward with the story.**

 **The other thing that keeps me moving forward is the reviews and PM's from all of you! Your reviews, even the simple "good job" ones, MAKE. MY. DAY. I don't know how else to say it. You guys are the real heroes of this story! As always,**

 **ROCK ON, EVERBODY!**

 **-Tusken1602**

 **P.S.: If you haven't already, please check out my one-shot short story starring Drot! It's entitled "Tales from Starlight Station," and you can find it on my profile page!**

* * *

Reviewer Responses:

Katkiller-V, MrBogus, OnkelJo- Thanks! German is not my first language, unfortunately, and if I wanted to be the know-it-all author, I would just attribute the broken German as "just the way the Shepards speak German" the truth is: _Ich brauche mehr Praxis mit meinem Deutsch!_

griezz, Blaze1992, Guest– kept my sadism in check and presented you with the actual conversations…well, some of them… :P

BrotherCaptainSheperd – Do good, get slapped. – Way life goes sometimes…

Toothless is best – Gonna TRY and keep to a chapter a week. That's my personal goal, anyway.

ThedemonlordPingu. Zeru'Xil, Bearmauls, Squadpunk 2.0, general-joseph-dickson, Nagato21, Anny-Rudolph, spiral83, METALHELLSPWN – We have seen Ko'le and Kevin grow as individual personalities. Beast has also transitioned from _just_ the cold, killing machine into a person who _knows_ they are a cold and killing machine….where that goes, is anyone's guess.

Pietersielie – Reyna is not as experienced at negotiating as her father might be, but she'll still facilitate the discussion…

Addlcove – Sorry about that! Glad you're back, though! :D

axissun01 – I have no plans for an Andromeda fanfic just yet, I'll have to play the game first. But def looking forward to doing that!

Biorr the Old, Elvisfonz23, tamagat, dragons guard, jackli10345, Jim, Tahkaullus01– Thanks, everyone! Glad you enjoyed it, and I hope you'll keep on reading and enjoying!

* * *

May the Father accept you when your times comes, and until then, may the Mother keep you always.

EE-RAH!


	14. Chapter 14: Dossier: The Assassin

***HAESTROM*  
DHOLEN SYSTEM  
FAR RIM  
**

"MotherFUCKER!" I screeched as she slammed against the wall, my shields now completely drained, and my kinetic barriers screeching in protest.

"Prophet-Mira, I doubt the geth actually copulate with their mother-boards sexually," Posse said to me, but that _little_ flare that he did with his face-plates conveyed amusement. I double-checked my SMG: it was blistering hot, thanks to the spirits-damned sunlight that this planet seemed to have in abundance. My Medusa-cams snaked around the corner, scanning for targets.

 _None_.

The geth were not taking the bait and advancing, as I had wagered they would, instead being content to rest in their dug-in defensive positions.

"Damn that Agwe!" I said for the thousandth time. "These geth have gotten smarter since he took control of them. If that's even possible..."

"We could attempt to flank them along the east wall?" Valkyrie suggested, outlaying a full strategic plan of attack in milliseconds.

Since the Conclave had started constructing additional platforms for the New Geth, some of our newest members had deviated farther from the original group-based names, as well as getting more creative with their platform designs. Valkyrie's platform, for example, had departed entirely from the bipedal model that the originals had modified. She looked exactly like a giant eagle, complete with a 3-meter long wingspan sporting mini-guns and mounted sniper rifles.

"Three armatures buried in the rubble here, here, and here," I explained. As I updated her strategic outline with current known enemy positions, the estimated casualty numbers crossed over into the "Untenable" range. "Crossing the eastern wall leaves us open and exposed to a crossfire, with no shields to assist us. They'd tear us apart."

" **Mira? Are you there?"**

"Thank the spirits, we have comms back," I said, answering the call.

Berserk (a giant modified YMIR mech, with a giant sword to match) observed glibly, "For now…"

"Tali? This is Mira, come in! Did you get the beacon deployed?"

" **No,"** Tali said despondently. **"With all the dark energy Agwe is drawing with the Hammer, even the Rachni singers can't penetrate the atmosphere. Have you made any progress on the left flank?"**

"Negative," I said. "Agwe has his geth dug-in using improvised bunkers. Short of rocket launchers, or ship-mounted cannons, we're not going to bust through."

" _ **Bosh'tet**_ **,"** Tali cursed in frustration. **"Reegar and the marines made another attempt to push through the tunnels. They've been laced with trip-mines since yesterday. Five of us didn't make it."**

"Spirits _damn_ that Magi!" I cursed, for the thousandth-and first time.

"Creator-Tali," Posse injected optimistically, "Magi-Agwe is charging the Hammer, but as long as we hold the Anvil, the weapon cannot be fired. Time is on our side; we only need to hold our positions and await Conclave reinforcements. The Queen losing contact with our Rachni units will be a distress signal, in and of itself."

" **Yes, Posse, but Agwe has only been content to defend as long as the Hammer is charging,"** Tali replied, trying to sound cheerful, but the weariness in her sleep-deprived voice was evident. **"Once it's fully charged, he will push for the Anvil. And we still do not have any way of knowing how many geth he's enthralled."**

"Well, we know it's not _all_ of them, if the gunfire and explosions on the other side of the city are any indication," I added.

" **Hoo-ray: the two armies trying to kill us are also trying to kill each other,"** Tali said, sarcasm dripping from every word.

"Hey, I'll take what I can get," I offered. A high-pitch whine interrupted my train of thought as a sniper round passed _just_ above us. "Well, we're not doing a damn bit of good here. We'll fall back to Alpha position. If Agwe wants to play this waiting game, we'll play…"

" **Roger that,"** Tali answered. **"Should I relay that to Cabal and the others?"**

"Already done," I replied, tapping the side of my head. "Prophet of the New Geth, remember?"

Even underneath the helmet, I could sense Tali roll her eyes. **"Riiiight. See you when you get here."**

"Take care of yourself, little Tali," I said, ending the call. "Alright, children, let's head back! Keep your heads down and make your shouts count. Berserk, use your shield to cover Valkyrie's take-off."

"Acknowledged," the giant said, reaching back for his giant industrial-grade steel shield, activating the kinetic barriers and integrated shields in the weapon. I ran a quick diagnostic on my own systems:

 _Structural Integrity: 82%_

 _Kinetic Barriers: 47%_

 _Shields: 13%...UPDATE...11%_

 _DAMN that Agwe…_

* * *

 ***ILLIUM*  
TASALE SYSTEM  
CRESCENT NEBULA**

"I think preferred Omega," Morinth said with a scowl, looking out over the busy shopping district of Nos Astra. "At least there it was easy to tell the good guys from bad guys, depending on whether or not they were shooting at you…"

"Mom told me stories of Nos Astra, but… I didn't believe it…" Reyna said, shaking her head. "They're just buying and selling _people_ … like they were baskets of fruit!"

"And a lucrative business it is, too," Tallaxis said, but a tentacle went to the pistol at his hip. "They have _forgotten_ the face of the Enkindlers."

"Keep moving," I said quietly. "And watch for Omni-Scanners." In a world without wallets, pickpockets scan passersby's Omni-Tools, to steal credits, banking information, even emails.

We made our way to an unassuming office building. An equally unassuming hologram displayed only a single symbol, unaccompanied by any words.

"Wait a second," Morinth said, taking a closer look as I reached for the door. "I recognize that sign. What business do we have with Mr. Thax?"

I raised an eyebrow as I scanned my hand at the door.

"Business? My dear Morinth, Mr. Thax works for _me._ "

The doors opened to reveal a scene that resembled a stock trade floor. Volus businessmen and information brokers wandered from kiosk to kiosk, trading their wares and secrets. In the center was a tall krogan, dressed in a resplendent black tuxedo. Above each terminal was the giant 'I' emblem of the Immortals.

Thax Voraks stood in the center of the room, directing the mayhem of organized chaos. Occasionally, an aide or secretary would approach him with a datapad, which he would look over and give a few short sentences on how to proceed. As he saw us approach, however, he turned and held his arms out wide as he dipped a courteous, highly-fashionable Illian bow.

"Welcome, my lord, to the least of your houses…" he said in a deep, marvelously-toned voice. "We were pleased to hear of your coming. I trust everything at the docks was satisfactory?"

I smiled, remembering the awed looks of intimidation as the dock manager had informed us that all the docking fees had been waived for our arrival.

"The name of Thax Voraks still commands respect in Nos Astra, it seems," I replied, "as well as no small amount of fear."

"HAHA, both are necessary in this line of work, _Imperator_ ," Voraks chuckled. "I have assembled the report that you requested."

He motioned over to a side room, where we took our places at a round table with a projector set up in the center. Voraks hit a button, and the room went dark and the projector brought up a picture of a young, fairly good-looking asari.

"Nassana Dantius," introduced Voraks. "One of the fastest-rising stars in Nos Astra's business circles. Young, only 311 years old, she started work on the Citadel as a diplomatic emissary for the Asari Councilor."

"Wasn't her sister a pirate?" I asked, holding Kevin's omniscience in check.

Thax looked impressed. "Indeed," he replied. "Dahlia was her older sister, had a crew of slavers and pirates that were loosely affiliated with the Dark Rim warlord Cessa. However, they were wiped out by none other than Commander Rebecca Shepard, on her hunt for Saren Arterius."

 _Arranged by Nassana, of course. But at this point, that's semantics._

"About a year ago, she showed up here at Nos Astra, with a fortune in credits, drives full of blackmail, and shuttles full of Eclipse mercenaries," Thax continued. "Within weeks, brokers and suppliers who did not sign over their wares to her operations began having…unfortunate accidents. My own personal shuttle exploded due to an overlocked eezo-fuel dispenser. Which struck me as distinctly odd, as it was solar-powered."

We shared a smile with him.

"The ones who survived either entered into business arrangements with her or…" he nodded towards my chair, "contracted with outside parties to supply armed muscle and protection. Others, like Miss T'Soni, left the planet altogether. The short armed conflict that always follows such shifts in power left Miss Dantius with a very secure hold over I-Sec. She has most recently begun consolidating that hold in the two skyscrapers in the up-town district: Dantius Towers."

 _To take over the Shadow Broker's operation,_ I corrected silently, nodding towards the big krogan.

"In recent months, she has grown increasingly obsessed with finding a human woman: Oriana Lawson. She even reached out to her competitors," Thax placed a hand on his chest, "in an attempt to gather more information. However," he chuckled, "her previous tactics have ensured that her competitors have been… _less_ than forthcoming with any information."

"I bet," Reyna agreed with a scoff. "What is her interest in this human?"

"Her father was Henry Lawson," Thax explained, in a tone of unfeigned admiration. "One of the greatest geneticists this galaxy has ever seen. Apparently, Miss Dantius has uncovered records showing that Miss Lawson is not his biological daughter so much as his life's work culminated into a single, living person."

Files and Holo-mail transcripts flooded the display, piecing together Miss Dantius' knowledge so far. I scanned the files, with the aid of my Prothean implants. There was no mention of Miranda in any of these files.

"The technology that would have to have been utilized to piece together this little treasure," Thax said, his eyes taking a far-away look, "would be worth _billions_ in the right hands."

I forwarded these files to Miranda's inbox.

"So while Shepard's mission is secure Oriana," I explained, "Ours will be to move against the threat that Nassana Dantius has now become to our organization."

"To that end," Thax said, throwing another picture up on the display, "Upon Miss Blake's instructions, I have put out a message on the Dark Core. I received a single reply just this morning…"

A simple holo-net message appeared on the screen.

 _JOB ACCEPTED.  
-T. K_

 _So Thane Krios was now planet-side, hunting Nassana Dantius._

I stood to my feet, the rest of my squad following suit.

"Before we get started, we should gather the rest of the supplies for the ship," I said to Tallaxis and Reyna.

"Please," Thax interjected, "Talk to my requisitions Officer: the female krogan in the office to the right. She'll be able to get anything you need at the lowest prices in Nos Astra."

I nodded, and the two of them left the room to do just that. Morinth however, stopped when she saw my silent indication to stay. When the other two had left the room, I turned back to the big krogan.

"Have you heard anything of an asari Justicar landing planet-side?" I asked.

Thax grinned.

"I would be a poor businessman indeed if I missed the arrival of such a celebrity," he said, bringing up a passenger manifest of a passenger cruise-liner. "Justicar Samara: She arrived two weeks ago, on the _AML_ _Infinity_. Since then, she has systematically been moving against the Eclipse Sisterhood, seeking information on one Yara D'len and her location. Apparently," he said, stealing a glance at Morinth, "she came to Illium almost a year ago now, and joined up with Eclipse. From there, she was sent to an Eclipse station elsewhere."

Morinth made eye contact with me and nodded in confirmation.

"Eclipse hasn't taken steps to take her out?" I asked. Thax's smile was the answer to that question, even before he shook his head.

"Not for lack of _trying_. Their power here in Nos Astra has been severely weakened since the Justicar's arrival, and in fact, Miss Dantius' security force is one of the few strongholds they have remaining here in the capital. Just this morning, Nos Astra was graced by the arrival of Jona Sederis herself."

Morinth's eyes went wide. "The old fish is _here? Now?_ "

"Residing as a guest of Miss Dantius at Dantius Towers, as we speak," confirmed the krogan Immortal.

The krogan's Omni-Tool _beeped_ , and upon opening the message, turned back to us.

"The _Normandy_ has just docked in the Riverfront District," he informed me.

"They will move for Oriana first," Morinth stated simply. "Meanwhile, _our_ storm just got a hundred goddess-damned times more turbulent."

"On the contrary," I corrected the asari, my mind racing at a hundred miles an hour, "It just got a hundred times more simple."

Morinth looked at me like I was insane, and even Thax raised an eyebrow.

"Come with me," I said to Morinth. "We need to get a drink."

* * *

 ***ETERNITY LOUNGE*  
RIVER DISTRICT  
NOS ASTRA, ILLIUM**

A taxi-ride later, we were ascending the stairs to the Eternity Lounge. There was the usual mix of turians, asari, and volus, along with few batarians gathered in the corner table.

 _Larger than the game seemed to make it_ , I thought, but then focused on the figure serving the drinks behind the bar.

 _There she is, large as life…_

 _Matriarch Aethyta_ … _as I live and breathe._

"So we came all this way… for a drink? Or so you could ogle the bartenders?" Morinth said in an irritated tone of voice. She shot me a sideways grin.

"Should've figured you'd go for older fish, Ko'le."

I rolled my eyes and made my way to the bar. Aethyta was pouring a drink for a turian in a rumpled tux who looked like he was on his fifth or sixth drink.

"Be with ya in a sec, hon," she said as we took our places at the bar. "Lucius, look at me."

The turian turned blood-shot eyes at the asari's firm words.

"Sitting here and drinking all my Oma Ker Red is not going to solve this problem. From what you've said, she doesn't feel _anything_ for this volus. Who cares how much money he's got? Fuck him! All you've got to do is be _honest_ with her. Tell her how you feel, and let her make up her own mind about the situation."

"But…but…what if she says 'No'?" Lucius asked.

"Then you'll be able to move on with your life," Aethyta shrugged. "But trust me, honey: She's just playing a waiting game here, trying to see if you've got the balls to tell her _how you feel_. This is just as much her testing _you_ as it is anything else."

Lucius straightened at that. "You really think so?"

"I'm old, kid, but I still remember all the tricks young maidens play," Aethyta said, putting a kind hand on the turian's arm. "Take it from me, kid: she's crazy about ya. Now go tell her that you feel the same way."

Lucius stared at the shot in his hand, then threw it back and laid the empty glass upside-down on the bar.

"I will!" he said resolutely. "I will! Thanks, Aethyta!"

"No problem, hon," Aethyta gave him a brilliant smile, especially watching his less-than-steady steps towards the stairs out of the bar. Then she turned to us.

"Now, what I can get _you two_?"

"Him naked and in bed with me," Morinth said with a perfectly straight face, pointing to me. At my somewhat shocked and confused expression, she added, "Or a Thessian Sunrise."

"The Sunrise I can help you with," Aethyta said, grinning at my expense. "What about you, clueless?"

"Umm…uh," I stammered, trying to regain control of the conversation. "Terran Red Wine, if you have it."

"Coming right up."

I shot Morinth a glare that was supposed to be intimidating, but only earned me a cheeky grin. Aethyta poured the drinks and placed them in front of us.

"Wise advice," I said, nodding towards the turian's empty shot glass. Aethyta collected it and added it to a tub of glasses and empty bottles.

"Glad there are still some who are willing to listen to it," she said. "Unlike those stuck-up prigs on the home-world. Stuck-up, pompous, bitch-ass…"

She took a deep breath.

"Sorry. Bit on-edge today."

"A daughter coming back to town can have that effect," I said, sipping my wine.

A darkness descended across Aethyta's face, and she reached a hand under the bar.

 _I'm guessing that's NOT a tumbler she's reaching for…_

"And what do you know of my daughter, _Seneschal_?" she asked, her tone turning icy.

"That I count her one of my closest friends," I said, laying my other hand on the bar to show that it was empty. "And I would _kill_ anyone who threatened her safety."

Aethyta paused a moment, then laid her hand back on top of the bar.

"That makes two of us, then," she said. "Liara know about me?"

"Not as far as I know," I said honestly. "And I don't plan on telling her. Not my place. And that's not the reason I came here today."

The matriarch relaxed visibly.

"Then to what, may I ask, do I owe the pleasure of your visit?"

"Just the answer to a hypothetical question."

"Shoot, I'll answer hypotheticals 'til Athame comes home."

"What would happen to Eclipse if Jona Sederis was suddenly taken out of the picture?"

Now it was Morinth's turn to sputter and look shocked. Aethyta paused, mid glass-wipe. She slowly put down the rag and glass.

"Oh, _honey_ ," she said, nothing but seriousness stamped on her expression. "Bigger fish than you have tried that, and they're all dead now."

"Humor me," I said, keeping the casual lilt in my voice. "Best guess?"

Aethyta arched an eyebrow, but resumed her dish-cleaning.

"Best guess? Her two she-witches she has for daughters would tear it all to hell. They hate each other almost as much as they hate _her_ , a rivalry Sederis has actually had the sense to encourage, to keep them from joining forces against her. Without their mother there to keep the uneasy peace? They'd be at each other's throats in a heartbeat."

"Interesting," I said non-committedly, taking another sip of my wine.

"Ko'le…" Morinth said in her 'don't you dare' voice.

"What?" I said innocently. "I'm certainly not suggesting _we_ try and do anything stupid. I'm just saying that with an asari Justicar coming to Illium for the first time in…?"

I glanced at Aethyta.

"Decades," she answered the unspoken question.

"Decades," I continued, "And the circumstantial arrival of one of the most notoriously _insane_ criminal warlords in the entire galaxy, both of them in the same city? At the same time? Anything could happen."

The two asari's' stares turned from disbelieving incredulity to thoughtful contemplation.

"I mean, goddess forbid, if Sederis and the Justicar were _ever_ in the same room, who knows what would happen?" I continued.

"Her fucking _Code_ would dictate that she should try to arrest Sederis," Aethyta said thoughtfully.

"Like Sederis would be scared of any trial," Morinth scoffed.

"Well technically, since the Justicars are _not_ sanctioned by any government," Aethyta corrected, "the case would most likely be relayed to the Citadel Courts."

She grinned in a very unnerving way.

"And I can think of not a few matriarchs who would sleep a _lot_ easier with Sederis behind bars…"

"But as you say," I replied off-handedly, finishing my glass of wine. "It's all hypotheticals, right? Besides, you know the justice system of the Citadel… It could take _centuries_ for such a case to come to court…"

Aethyta gave me a sideways look and a grin to match.

"They said you were good, _Seneschal_ , but _damn…"_

She turned and called out to behind the bar.

"ERANA! Watch the bar, will ya, babe?"

A young maiden bounded up to the bar, exuberant smile on her face.

"OK, Miss Aethy!"

Aethyta laid a hand on top of mine, giving me a knowing smile.

"These two have drinks on the house. I have a few calls to make."

Erena nodded and proceeded to get us refills as Aethyta slowly strode out of the bar and down the stairs out of sight.

" _Fuck_ , Ko'le," Morinth exclaimed, picking up her drink. "Betrayals? Manipulations? Political Machinations? Why do you have to be so _Goddess-damned_ sexy?"

Suddenly her playful expression turned serious.

"Boss…"

She nodded towards the entrance of the bar. Shepard and Miranda had just entered. Shepard and I made eye contact, but she made no sign of acknowledgement.

 _Smart_.

"Ignore them," I said, turning back to the bar. "I'd rather not tip anyone off that we're with the Council Spectre. At least not just yet."

Morinth nodded, and we turned back to our drinks. Morinth hung on my arm, but she was facing the lounge, while I stayed facing the bar.

"What are they doing?" I asked in a low voice.

"They just sat down in the corner both with another asari," Morinth said, though her lips barely moved. "Don't know her. Cute though, in a secretarial kind of way."

"That would be Lanteia, Miranda's contact on-world," I mused. "She's been the one updating Miranda about her the situation."

"They don't like what she's saying," Morinth said. "The cat-suit ice queen just got _colder_ , if you can imagine it."

"Imagine if someone was going after Falere, or Rila," I said simply. "What would _you_ do to keep your sisters safe?"

A long silence met my question.

"You know that thing you do where you say _exactly_ the right thing _all the time_? It's annoying…"

"Comes with the job," I said with a mock sigh. "Perfection is _such_ a heavy burden to bear…"

"I'm going to smack you. OK, she's leading them away now. Shepard is on her Omni-Tool."

My own Omni-Tool _buzzed_ to life, showing the message Shepard had just sent me from across the room:

 _Moving to extract VIP-Standby to support-Possible heavy Resistance-Cmdr. SHEPARD._

I typed a "Standing by" reply, then turned to Morinth.

"Get the crew together. We'll need to be ready to move out at a moment's notice."

* * *

 ***SOME TIME LATER***

You know what's _never_ covered, in ANY video game? What the rest of the squad do while Shepard and her two selected companions go and accomplish the mission. Know why?

'Cause it's hella boring as shit…

I wasn't used to being the one left behind, waiting for the word on what to do. Of course I knew it would go off without a hitch, but I had the advantage of… hold on a second….

 _If Niket doesn't have Henry Lawson to give Oriana to, he'll stay loyal to Miranda. So it's entirely possible that they'll relocate Oriana without even firing a shot._

 _Then why is it taking SO BLOODY LONG?_

Suddenly, my Omni-Tool and Garrus' came to life at the same time. Answering the call, Shepard's face appeared in the view-screen.

"Dantius has the package," Shepard said in her crisp, non-panicked but every-has-gone-FUBAR voice. "We're moving on Dantius Towers now. Meet us there. Expect heavy resistance."

"What?!" I exclaimed. "How?"

"Unknown," Shepard replied, "We got to the drop point and Nik…. Miranda's contact was already dead. Found some Eclipse cleaning up the place, however. They were kind enough to explain the situation."

"I take it they did not survive their explanation?"

"They _tortured_ my oldest friend to death and kidnapped my sister," Miranda's ice-queen voice broke into the conversation. "What do _you think?"_

"No judgement or condemnation here," I replied. "We'll be on-site soon to back you up."

"Boss," Morinth spoke up in the shuttle seat next to me. "If Jona Sederis really is there, there will be a _fucking army_ between us and her."

"Which is why you're going to call her and tell her who's on the way there," I said simply.

Four pairs of eyes stared at me incredulously.

"Jona Sederis came to Nos Astra looking for a single, orphaned human girl who just happens to have the right genetics to be valuable," I explained. "However, if one of her _loyal_ captains called her," I gestured to Morinth, "to tell her that a Council Spectre was bound for her location, after the same prize…"

"…It would be more heat that she could afford to handle," Reyna finished for me, starting to understand. "She'd pull her forces back, leaving Nassana Dantius as a gift-wrapped scapegoat, with the girl as evidence of the crime."

"You do remember the part where Sederis is _insane,_ don't you?" Morinth asked. "She will be just as likely to fortify her position, or more likely, _kill everyone_ in the fucking building."

"It's a gamble," I admitted. "But the one thing we know for _damn_ sure is that if Shepard goes into that tower guns-blazing, Sederis WILL stand and fight."

"It's the safest option," Kai agreed, grinning his approval. "Divide and conquer…"

"Precisely," I said, "Morinth? Make the call."

* * *

 ***DANTIUS TOWERS***  
 **NOS ASTRA**  
 **ILLIUM**

The towers were larger than I remembered them. But then, that was a reoccurring theme ever since I arrived on Therum, more than two years ago.

In the game, Shepard and the two-man squad get dropped off at the bottom of Tower Two and fight their way up. This time, however, we had eleven squad members from the _Indomitable_ , and ten from the _Normandy_. And a twenty-one-person attack is a horse of a different color completely. "Divide-and-conquer" was the theme of our entire attack. What we _absolutely_ didn't want was for us to be in one location for Dantius or Sederis to throw waves of mechs or Eclipse sisters at us.

So we attack her from four different directions, and throw them into confusion. Four insertion points, four shuttles. The side door of our shuttle swung open.

"Sergeant-Major?" I asked. "Do you see that wall?"

"Aye, sah," the vorcha affirmed.

"I don't want to."

"Right-ho, sah!" the vorcha hefted the ML-77 rocket launcher into position and squeezed the trigger. Before the dust and smoke from the explosion had even settled, I had launched myself out of the shuttle and through the giant hole it had blown in the side of the building. Bringing my rifle to bear, I scanned for targets, blasting back two LOKIs and a FENRIS mech. Leng joined me on the platform next, throwing a flashbang and cloaking. Reyna appeared next, followed by Morinth.

"Clear left!"

"Contact! Contact Right!"

Lastly, the resplendently-armored vorcha came through the window, rolling to his feet while bringing twin SMGs to bear on the mechanized enemies pouring into the room.

"EE-RAH! BLOOD AND VINEGAR, CHAPS!" the Sergeant-Major cried, positively _giddy_ to be back in the thick of battle.

It was laughably one-sided. Between our rifles and Leng's sword, the room was cleared in matter of minutes.

"MOVE! Keep up the pressure!" I called, already proceeding towards the door. Suddenly, the door exploded into splinters, and a krogan stepped through, twin rocket launchers at the ready. Barriers were thrown up as we dove for cover as rockets began spraying through the room,

"MUAAHAHAHAHAHAHA! FEAR THE MIGHT OF RAIK KOLSHEV, MORTALS!"

"Idiot's going to bring the whole building down on top of us!" hissed Morinth as a rocket _whizzed_ overhead, detonating somewhere behind us.

"Don't think Dantius hired him for his brains…" I said, reaching for my blade.

"I will tear your beating hearts out of your chests!" the krogan continued, "I will – "

Suddenly, a hole appeared in his throat, and orange blood dribbled down his neck. The krogan mercenary looked confused as his fingers lost their strength and he slumped first to his knees, then onto his face.

"Good shot, Garrus!" I said into my radio.

" **Uhh, that wasn't me,"** the detective answered. **"We're still eight floors above you."**

"Kolyat? Shepard?" I asked the other two snipers on our team, but got only negatives.

"Then who…?" I asked, looking at the _perfect_ shot that had hit the krogan in the back of the head, just under the headplate and exited out his neck. Then it hit me.

 _Krios._

"Be advised, Krios is probably on-site and on the hunt," I relayed to the other teams.

" **Acknowledged,"** Shepard's voice answered.

The mission in the game is basically sneaking around until you encounter large groups of enemies. _This_ , on the other hand, was a four-sided meat grinder descending on the executive suite of Dantius Tower II. After scrapping a room of LOKIs, we opened a door to see Basher holding an Eclipse mercenary by the leg off a half-completed ledge.

"It's about, what, seventy-five stories to the floor?" Jane asked Javik.

"Seventy-seven," clarified Javik.

"Long way to fall," Jane said to the Eclipse mercenary. "Or you could tell us where the human girl is that they brought from the Riverfront district."

"AHH! OK, OK, OK! JESUS, PUT ME DOWN!" the yellow-armored human begged.

"OK…" Basher said, and let go of the man's leg. Luckily, Javik's and my biotics flared, keeping the prisoner from falling more than a few feet. But I guessed that this guy would need to change his armor anyway. Jane shot a look a t Basher, who reached out and re-took the man's leg in his hand sheepishly.

"Sorry…" he said, looking genuinely ashamed.

"The girl is on the top floor! Dantius had her brought to the safe room after Sederis left!" the prisoner shared in a gush of helpful information. "That's all I know, I swear!"

"Thank you," Jane said with a sweet smile, then sent a right hook that knocked the upside-down guy senseless. Basher then swung him over to the relative safety of the ledge, and dropped him.

"Let's move," I instructed my reunited squad. Turro'le and Kolyat hung in the rear, their long-range weapons covering the rest of us. Tallaxis, Javik, Morinth and I were in the center, our biotics offering support or aid where needed. Reyna also was with us, ready to hack any door or mech we encountered. Basher, Jane, Leng, and Pyke took the lead, their firepower carving through anything in their path.

"These mechs are not worth the parts they consist of," Javik said with distain as we stepped over the latest group of security mechs that attempted to impede our passage. "It would appear that Sederis took most of her warriors with her in her flight."

"Only you would complain that we don't have _enough_ foes to fight, Brother," I laughed.

"Admit it, you also find this tedious," Javik retorted.

"We shall have battles glorious in the time to come," I replied. "For now, I will take what Life throws at me."

" _ **Indomitable**_ **, are you in position?"**

"Roger, _Normandy_. Ready on your mark," I answered.

" **Five, four, three, two, one… BREACH."**

The door in front of us opened, and we entered the executive suite. Five Eclipse Vanguards faced us, barriers and tech armor powering up. On the opposite side of the room, five more guards faced off with the _Normandy_ crew that was pouring in, weapons ready. In the center of the room, Nassana Dantius stood, in her highly-fashionable dress, arm around a young human girl, who looked about maybe 17 or 18.

"Well, you've made it this far, Shepard," the asari said coolly. "Very impressive for a Spectre who's supposed to be dead."

"Let my sister go, you _bitch,"_ Miranda hissed, stepping forward, biotics flaring.

"Uh-ah-ah," the asari flared biotics of her own, keeping the human girl in a neck-lock. The girl's eyes had gone even wider at Miranda's declaration of sisterhood, if that was even possible. "One false move and I'll snap her neck, here and now. It'll be easier than breaking a toothpick."

Shepard slowly reached out an arm and pulled Miranda back.

"Dantius, we came for the girl, not you. Hand her over and we'll leave you in peace."

"Don't patronize me, Shepard," Dantius said dismissively. "You destroy my tower, decimate my security, and you say you're _not_ here to kill me? No doubt you find this all very ironic: first you take care of my sister, and now you've come for me."

"Geez, paranoid much?" Jack muttered not-so-quietly.

Dantius drew in a breath through her teeth, using a free hand to pull a pistol from her back and holding it to Oriana's head.

"I'm not _playing_ anymore," the asari said as every finger in the room tightened on their respective triggers. "Anybody makes so much as a…"

A single figure dropped from the ceiling, a drop of over twenty feet, if my reckoning was correct. The drell landed _just_ behind Nassana, seizing her wrist and knocking the gun away. Startled, Nassana loosened her grip on the human to turn on her attacker.

Too late.

FAR too late.

With a single, deft moment, the drell's arms came up and twisted the asari's neck. The snap that followed was both loud and final. The biotics around her flickered and went out as Nassana Dantius slumped over onto the floor, quite dead.

As the Vanguards whirled to deal with the assassin, Javik, Morinth, and I blitzed forward with biotics, our swords finding weak points in their armor. Leng decloaked just above another guard, his sword coming down through the neck of the salarian. On the other side, Kasumi had also decloaked, driving her _wakizashi_ into the back of one of the Eclipse. Shepard, Garrus, Turro, and Kolyat each fired a single shot, each targeting a separate guard. Those whose shields didn't fail instantly were suddenly flung against the walls like rag dolls at Miranda's, Tallaxis', or Jack's biotic flares. Basher's and Grunt's shotguns each barked, taking out the two who had been lucky enough to survive the slamming against the walls. Thane Krios dealt with the final guard, leaping towards the huntress and wrapping his legs on each side of her neck. Even as they fell to the ground, we heard the _crack_ of the asari's neck. Thane rolled to his feet, moving without hesitation to Dantius' body. Miranda moved forward to grab the distraught Oriana, along with Shepard.

Garrus barked an order to the rest of the _Normandy_ crew, who fanned out into guarding positions. My crew, on the other hand, along with Liara, moved to the terminals, plugging in hacking shunts and wiping other data-streams clean. Thane had folded Nassana's arms across her chest, then folded his own hands and bowing his head in silent prayer.

Shepard walked forward and stood at a respectful distance from the praying assassin.

"Thane Krios?" she asked. "I was hoping to talk to you…"

There was a moment of silence, then Thane lowered his hands.

"Apologies," came the gravelly voice of Keythe Farley. "But prayers for the wicked must not be forsaken."

Shepard raised an eyebrow and looked at the prone figure on the floor.

"You really think she deserves it?"

Thane looked up, making eye contact with the Commander for the first time.

"Not for her," he said, "For me. The measure of an individual can be difficult to discern, based upon actions alone."

He folded his hands behind is back, carefully weighing the individual in front of him.

"What exactly would you like to discuss, Commander?"

"Someone's been abducting entire human colonies," Shepard answered. "We already know the culprits: a race called the Collectors. I'm putting together a team to stop them."

"I've heard of them," Krios said thoughtfully. "Attacking the Collectors means passing through the Omega 4 relay. No ship has ever returned from doing so."

"They told us it was impossible to get to Ilos too, Master Krios," I said, stepping forward. "The Commander has quite a history with the impossible."

"Ah. _Seneschal_ Ko'le," Thane said. "You have something of a history with the impossible, yourself."

"I have had the help of many good people around me," I said, gesturing to my squad.

 _That_ 's when Thane Krios first noticed the drell working at the terminal on the far side of the room, making a concerted effort to _not_ make eye contact with him.

" _Kolyat_ …" Thane said under his breath. Then he turned back quickly to Shepard.

"I will work for you, Shepard," he said, holding out his hand. "No charge."

Shepard shook the drell's hand, nodding. "Glad to have you onboard, Thane."

"Boss."

I turned at Morinth's call and walked over to the terminal where she was standing.

"We only missed Sederis by _seconds_ ," she said, pointing to a blip on the screen moving towards the docks. "She's bound for the dockyard district."

"Well then, time for Phase 2 of our plan," I replied, bringing up my Omni-Tool and dialing a number, careful to place no-one in the background of my call. A familiar face answered.

" **Seneschal…"**

"Madam Justicar," I said with a polite nod. "I understand you're looking for information from Eclipse."

" **I am,"** she answered. If she was surprised by my call or my knowledge, she did not show it. **"My intelligence suggests that Morinth joined them not long ago,"** the Justicar answered. **"I am attempting to find out where she was posted once she did. So far, without success."**

"Would you then be interested to know that the Chairman of the Eclipse Sisterhood is inbound for your location?"

A _wisp_ of surprise flickered across her face.

" **Sederis is here?"**

"She is inbound for her private yacht, the EPV _Syzygy_. It is plausible that she has the information you seek."

Now the predatory look returned, and Samara drew her shoulders back.

" **It is likely. I thank you for your intel,** _ **Seneschal.**_ **"**

"We are inbound for the same location," I said. "We will join our strength with yours, in exchange for a moment of your time. Commander Shepard would ask thy aid in our quest."

Samara did not raise so much as an eyebrow, but only cocked her head slightly to the right.

" **Intriguing. Help me achieve the information I seek,** _ **Seneschal**_ **, and I will hear thee."**

"Athame keep you, Justicar," I said solemnly, closing the call. Shepard caught the very end of the conversation, and drew me aside.

"What's the plan?" she asked.

"Samara is attempting the arrest of Jona Sederis," I answered. "We should get a squad and head that way."

Shepard turned back to her crew.

"Liara! Grunt! Jack! Mount up!"

"Turro and Pyke, on me," I said in turn.

"Ko'le," Morinth started, as Shepard had a quiet word with Miranda and Oriana. "Let me go with you."

"If I had a year, I couldn't list all the reasons why that was a bad idea," I replied.

"If anything's going down with my mother, I'd rather have it out now," she said. " _Please_ , Ko'le. Have I ever asked you for _anything_ , after all the things I've done for you?"

I drew a long breath in through my nose.

"Grab your helmet," I said finally. "You don't breathe so much as a _word_ without my say-so. As far as anyone on that dock will know, you are _just_ another asari in armor. Got it?"

She nodded, reaching for her helmet as she did so.

As the seven of us boarded a shuttle on the roof, one thought kept going through my head over and over again:

 _Mother above, this was a bad idea_.

* * *

 **A/N:**

 **Well, we have Thane Krios recruited and Oriana rescued. Niket still dead, but Miranda still loyal. :D  
Now, we have the SECOND dreaded Mother/Daughter reunion of this fic: Morinth vs. Samara. How it will all go down? I've got most of the chapter written/outlined, but you'll have to wait and see…This update schedule I've set up for myself has been far more successful than I'd thought originally. So I'm going to do my best to stick to it, that way I can get this content out to you guys that much quicker. Thank you for your patience and support! You guys ROCK!**

 **As always, leave me your thoughts/ideas/criticisms. I can't stress enough how excited I get to receive your feedback, even if it's just "Good Job." :D**

 **-Tusken1602**

* * *

Reviewer Responses:

Squadpunk 2.0 – Yeah, she does seem kinda that way around Ko'le doesn't she? *wink*

tamagat – that is literally my favorite Shakespeare speech EVER. While I don't want to steal directly from the Bard, I do hope to have my fair share of heroic speeches by the end of this (especially at the Collector Base).

Zeru'Xil, METALHELLSPWN – Yep. Leviathans sticking their tentacle-ly noses where they don't belong… :D

general-joseph-dickson, BrotherCaptainSheperd, Bearmauls, Tahkaullus01, – Yeah, Shepard and her mom's relationship has turned a corner, but it's a long road to go, still. And we have more reunions to come, so yeah, you could say there was a theme going…

Appbeza – Got a sneak peak of Mira's happenings! Hope I didn't disappoint!

Sheity Williams – Shhh…. *Spoilers….

dragons guard – the next chapter will also have tons of action, and after that, we return to SUNNY HAESTROM!

Toothless is best – I do as well! :D It's good to have a goal for yourself. At least it is for me. Otherwise, it's weeks and sometimes MONTHS between chapters…

Blaze1992, KyuubiNodaci – No worries, mates. No cheating going to be happening here. You're right, Ashley's too religious a person for that, and even I couldn't do that to Ko'le…diabolical as I may be.

BJ Hanssen – Yeah, Beast is coming into his own as a unique personality, rather than just a dumb brute. Whether that's a good thing or not, remains to be seen…

Elvisfonz23, Guest, jackli10345, Valor01, DOS73, Kebarton, shugokage – Thanks, everyone! As long as there are people who will read it, I'll take the story all the way to the end of ME:3. I don't have any plans for a sequel to the story after that, but with Andromeda coming up fast, who knows? ;P

* * *

May the Father below accept you when your time comes, and until then, may the Mother keep you always.

EE-RAH!


	15. Chapter 15: Dossier: The Justicar

***RIVERFRONT DISTRICT*  
ILLIUM**  
 **TASALE SYSTEM  
CRESCENT NEBULA**

We could tell we were headed the right direction by the brilliant blue flashes we could see from the shuttles.

And the explosions.

And the screaming.

Civilians ran willy-nilly across the courtyard as gunfire and biotic flashes could be heard, if not seen.

"Where the hell is I-Sec?" I asked.

"During a fight between the Matriarch of Eclipse and a Justicar of Athame?" Morinth said drolly. " _Very_ far away, methinks."

Turro shook his head. "Shame," the big Raloian said. "They are entrusted to protect the people, and in time of trouble, they are nowhere to be found. They are faithless guardians, _Seneschal_."

"Indeed," Pyke nodded, double-checking his twin SMGs. "Well said, sirrah. Useless blotters, the lot of 'em."

"Set us down as close as you can," I instructed the pilot. "Then get back to a safe distance."

"Roger that, _Imperator_ ," the pilot answered. "But by the looks of the carnage beneath us, that might be somewhere in the next system."

Shepard chuckled next to me, along with Grunt and Jack. Liara drew a breath in slowly, then exhaled just as slowly.

"Liara? What's the matter?" Shepard asked, concern coming into her voice and expression.

"Nothing," Liara said, a little _too_ quickly. I began to chuckle.

"What?" Shepard asked, looking back and forth between the two of us.

"Our very own Dr. T'Soni here is an asari, Commander," I hazarded a guess. "I imagine there would be some amount of nervousness at meeting one of her childhood heroes. Even more so when it involves leaping into battle alongside them."

Liara blushed deeply, sputtering a denial over our chuckles.

"Mind you don't _cream_ yourself when you meet her, Liara," Jack joked, sending a sideways glance at the asari maiden.

"I'm _NOT…_ not…I…uh…don't know what that means…" the Shadow Broker confessed, hopelessly confused.

Shepard patted her lover's knee before standing to her feet. "I'll fill you in later, hon."

" _Yeah, I_ _bet you will_ ," Jack retorted, earning a Shepard-glare that served to disallow further comment, but didn't wipe the grin off the Psychotic Biotic's face.

The shuttle swept down, the side door opening. We hit the ground at a run, making for the general direction of the explosions. Warehouses and shopping malls were abandoned, even by the looters and generally lower-class of rabble that usually took advantage of chaos like this.

 _Nobody_ _wants to be around for this, I guess_.

 _Except for us eight idiots running_ _towards_ _the biotic explosions.._.

Suddenly, the wall in front of us… _how do I describe this_?

Detonated.

 _Yeah, that's the best word for it._

In a purple/blue flare of biotic energy, two yellow-armored asari came through the wall, large fist-shaped dents in their armor and helmets. Taking only the briefest of moments to exchange _"oh Fuck"_ looks, Shepard and I went through the newly-created door. A tall, purple asari stood at the top of a flight of stairs, flanked by armored bodyguards. She was dressed in a long, flowing blue and yellow robe. All around her, Eclipse-clad soliders trained rifles, shotguns, and weapons of all calibers on the crimson-armored Justicar that was ascending the stairs.

"Those were my _best troops_ …" Sederis hissed, more out of annoyance than actual lament.

"Tell me what I need to know, and I will be gone from here," the flowing voice of Samara seemed to fill the wide open expanse. I _felt_ Morinth tense beside me, fingers on her trigger.

"Decrepit _crone_ ," Sederis' venomous tones replied. "You are nothing but a remnant of a time long forgotten and no longer _needed_ by our people: So concerned with your precious CODE that you've failed to see that the galaxy has left you _FUCKING BEHIND!_ And I WILL GIVE YOU NOTHING BUT YOUR DEATH!"

She raised a single finger to the Asari Justicar (I'll let you guess which one it was).

"TEAR THIS BITCH APART!"

"GO!" Shepard barked, bringing her rifle up and firing a single shot through the forehead of the salarian on Sederis' right _._

 _So much for taking over Eclipse, Sayn_.

Cackling with laugher, Jack _leapt_ forward, biotics flaring. The nearest Eclipse sister whirled, her hastily-erected barrier obliterated by the human's shockwave.

Sederis actually _howled_ her frustration, turning her full attention on the Justicar. Her arms lit up, sending two powerful Warpfires at Samara, who brought her forearms together in front of her to block the awe-inspiringly-powerful attack. It dissipated the needle-like biotic spears, but I could tell it took a _lot_ more out of Samara than Sederis, who was already preparing another attack. My eyes went white, and I channeled my rage and anger in a powerful Biotic Reave.

The green-black field struck the Matriarch of Eclipse, and she screamed in agony and surprise. Then she let off a flare, dispersing the draining field. Whirling to face this new threat, Sederis whirled to me, sending a flurry of biotic spears towards me.

 _Beast. I have need of thee_ …

A green-black Prothean Biotic barrier formed around my armored form, and my arm batted aside one of the beams like a gnat, all the while advancing on the Eclipse commander. Two Eclipse bodyguards attempted to impede my progress, but a purple bolt caught one in the throat, and the other was tackled by a vorcha-shaped blur, Pyke's bladed sub-machines lacerating the turian without mercy. Turro had now closed with two more Eclipse sisters, his _Hak'kam_ rifle suddenly deploying a bayonet, skewering the nearest like a stuck pig. The massive avian moved with a speed that belied his size, rolling underneath the shotgun blast that the second sent his direction. He lashed out with fisted wing and taloned leg, the asari's knees and then her neck bending at very much the wrong angles.

Sederis arched forward, biotics crackling.

 _She's going to charge!_

My mind was clear, and everything seemed to slow to a crawl around me. I leaned forward, my biotics propelling me forward as well. She was targeting me for a head-on charge. Whoever had trained her (a krogan, most likely, judging from her tactics) was used to raw power crushing and obliterating whatever it accounted. However, I stepped _just_ to the left at the last possible millisecond, seizing the asari matron as she passed and using her own momentum to hurl her through the nearest wall, and the two others immediately behind it.

 _Two can play at that game, my dear._

Sederis may be crazy but the bitch was _tough_. A purple-blue blur tackled me in her next biotic charge, carrying us both across the courtyard. I managed to throw her before we hit the ground. We landed in an undignified tumble, both of us scrambling to our feet.

"You will suffer for that, _Interloper!"_ Jona screeched.

Her dress was rent in several places now, revealing multiple layers of armored byweave underneath the seemingly-silky fabric. She launched forward again, sending an impressive combination of punches, kicks, and jabs, all backed with her considerable reserve of biotic power.

A long shard was now in her hand, and she was slashing forward, wielding the jagged piece of glass like a dagger, oblivious to the blood that flowed down her own arm. There was no time to draw my own sword. I leaned back to avoid a swipe, lashing out with a biotically-reinforced kick. Taking advantage of the second that it gained me, my sword was in my hand, and the next second the glass dagger shattered against my blade. But then a knee came up, knocking the wind forcibly from my body. Sederis raised a biotic fist above my prone form.

"NO!"

Morinth tackled her former superior, sending her tumbling onto her back. Mounting her prostrate form, the Ardat-Yakshi sent blow after impossible blow down upon Sederis. Then, Sederis caught her fist and sent one of her own.

The fragmented pieces of Morinth's helmet flew in all directions.

 _SHIT._

Sederis stood over Morinth, absolute rage contorting her features, fist upraised.

 _REAVE._

Once again, Sederis' form twisted in agony as her very own nervous system rebelled against her at my bidding, sending spikes of debilitating pain up and down every nerve in her body.

Debilitating to any _sane_ person, that is.

Grimacing through the excruciating pain, Sederis slowly straightened, glaring murderously at me.

Then she smiled.

But before she could unleash whatever hell she had cooked up for me, a blue whirl came _crashing_ into her back.

 _I didn't know Liara could Charge like that…_

But then I saw Liara engaged in a biotic show-down on the other side of the courtyard, Jack coming swiftly to her aid.

 _Then who…_

An armored Asari straddled Sederis' back, plunging a syringe into each side of the Eclipse commander's neck. Sederis stiffened, then went limp. My armored savior drew a pistol from her back, then turned the melee in the courtyard.

"LAY DOWN YOUR ARMS!" her helmet's amplifiers boomed. "OR YOUR MISTRESS DIES!"

 _That voice…_

The few remaining Eclipse soldiers slowly lowered their weapons, then dropped them sullenly as they took in the situation.

"Pyke…Turro," I began.

"Biotic restraints, aye sir," Pyke said, opening his utility pouch to reveal multiple pairs of biotic handcuffs. They not only used eezo to restrain even krogan-level prisoners, but also suppressed any biotic abilities of the wearer. Liara and Jack were doing the same, with Grunt aiming his massive shotgun at the kneeling prisoners, _daring_ any of them to make a move. None did, to his evident disappointment.

"Thanks for the assist…" Shepard said, coming up to our mysterious stranger. The helmet folded back to reveal…

 _No way…_

"Tela Vasir, Council Special Tactics and Reconnaissance," the asari said, shaking hands.

"MORINTH."

I whirled to see Samara pin my lieutenant against the wall, blue energy coursing through her arms. Grimacing at the blow, Morinth turned back to the Justicar.

"Mother…"

"DO NOT CALL me that!"

"SAMARA!"

A green-black glow surrounded the asari Justicar, pulling her back and momentarily breaking her concentration. I placed myself between the mother and daughter.

"She is with me," I explained, keeping my voice level, but preparing for the worst.

Samara made no expression of surprise or shock.

"Then you have made your choice, _Seneschal_ ," she said calmly.

"What about MY CHOICE?" Morinth said next to me. "My only crime was to be born with the gifts YOU GAVE ME!"

 _THAT_ got a rise out of Samara. Her face contorted with anger and… _pain_?

"ENOUGH!"

She sent another Throw at us, but our combined strength blocked it easily.

"You are a DISEASE to be purged, NOTHING MORE!"

"Justicar…"

Samara whirled at the sound of Shepard's voice, only to find the human Spectre kneeling in a asari supplicant's pose. Liara must have schooled her in the proper way to address her childhood hero.

"Commander," Samara said, taking stock of the nine individuals who had assisted her in overpowering three times that many Eclipse soldiers. "I know of your deeds, and your reputation. Believe me when I say that this girl," she pointed to Morinth, "is _evil_. By the Code, I must judge her for her crimes, which are numerous and heinous."

"I do not doubt your word, Justicar," Shepard said, glaring pointedly at me. "You say that you know of my deeds. If they meet with your approval, I would I ask for a single boon before you mete out your justice. Afterward, you may do as you like…"

She looked over and made eye contact with me.

"…without interference from me."

I nodded at her words, understanding their full meaning: I was on my own. Shepard (as a Council Spectre) couldn't very well kill a Justicar of Athame, in public and with witnesses. Her hands were tied.

Samara cocked her head at the human's words, then looked back at me, then back to Shepard.

"Name your boon. I will not grant what I do not know," she said after a moment's pause.

"I ask to share a memory with you," Shepard said. "A great evil is coming, Samara. I am assembling a force to fight them. I would share with you the warning I received from the Prothean beacon on Eden Prime: the vision that set me upon this path."

Samara looked back at me, uncertain.

"I swear, no harm will come to you," Shepard added quickly. "Look, if you will, and judge for yourself."

Samara slowly walked forward to the kneeling Shepard, then, even more slowly, placed her hands on either side of her head. Her eyes went white as she and Shepard shared the harrowing warning my people had seeded across _thousands_ of planets in my cycle:

 _The Reapers Shall Return._

If I hazarded a guess, I imagine Shepard was filling her in on the Collectors as well. When the Justicar's eyes returned to normal, she stepped back slowly. Shepard slowly got to her feet.

"I need your help, Samara," Shepard spoke first. "I need all the allies I can assemble to fight the Collectors, and keep the Reapers from returning, or fight them if they do come."

"I…I know of the Collectors, and the pain and misery they spread across this galaxy," Samara answered. "Your cause is just, Shepard, and noble."

She turned back to face Morinth and me.

"But it does not change my obligations to the Code."

 _Fuck_.

I braced for the fight, _sensing_ Morinth do the same.

"If I may…"

Liara's timid voice drew everyone's attention, and she hesitated for a moment, then regained her confidence and spoke in a more direct tone.

"My lady, does not the 3rd Oath of Subsumation in your code allow you to join forces with a lesser evil, in order to defeat a greater one? Whatever this asari has done," Liara said, gesturing to Morinth, "it _cannot_ be greater than the challenge the Commander faces."

Samara looked impressed.

"I commend you for your knowledge of the Code, _Liara T'Soni_ ," she spoke, giving the slightest of nods. "But if you know of that oath, then you must also know that it does not _forgive_ the evildoer. It merely postpones their judgement. Especially not for an Ardat-Yakshi."

I rarely saw Liara surprised, now that she was the Shadow Broker and all. But _that_ sentence shook her. She went pale and looked at Morinth with horror, and then at me in disbelief.

"I understand you must keep your oaths, Moth... _Justicar_ ," Morinth said, stepping out from behind me. "And I will offer you one of my own in return."

She knelt in front of her mother, arms crossed on her chest. I didn't move, unsure of what the _hell_ she was doing.

"I am sworn to the _Seneschal's_ service, to slay his enemies, and guard his friends. If you bind yourself to Shepard, I swear that in the time you are bound by that oath, I will take no innocent life. I will guard you in battle, and protect you with my very life. And at the end of that time…"

Her voice broke momentarily, but she regained her composure quickly.

"...at the end of that time, I will accompany you back to the Monastery of Lesuss, and there face the judgement of the Thirty."

"Morinth…" Samara and I spoke, almost simultaneously. Surprise was clearly stamped on Samara's face, as I'm sure it was on my own.

"You know what that verdict _must be_ …?" Samara asked breathlessly.

"They will _certainly_ kill you… they _must_ kill you…" I said in the same tone of disbelief.

Morinth looked back and me and then to her mother.

"I am Mirala T'Cern, of House T'Cern," she said spoke loudly for all to hear. "I do make this oath freely. I will return when our enemies are defeated, to face the judgement I have long avoided.

And so richly deserve…" she added in a low tone that I know only Samara and I could hear. "By the Justicar's Code, I swear this. By the Sword of Athame, I swear it. By sea and sky, So May It Be."

Blue biotics flared, sealing the sacred pact.

Samara looked down at her hands, as if seeing them for the first time. Then she lowered them on her daughter's head.

"I do…I do receive and accept your oath, Mirala T'Cern," she spoke, her words brimming with emotion.

Then the crimson-clad Justicar turned and took a knee before Commander Shepard.

"By the Code I will serve you, Shepard.

Your choices will be my choices.

Your morals, my morals.

Your wishes are my Code."

Her own biotics flared, sealing her words and bond. Shepard raised her right hand, with her four fingers upraised.

"I do hear and accept your Oath, Samara. And with it the consequences of my actions."

Samara stood, her eyes white and shining.

"I never thought I'd see a _Justicar_ swear an oath like that…" Vasir marveled from where she still stood over an unconscious Sederis.

"Shall we return to your ship?" Samara asked.

Shepard nodded. "I have a few things to talk about with my fellow Spectre, but I will meet the rest of you there."

On cue, our shuttle swept over the nearby rooftop, accompanied by a fleet of I-Sec security shuttles.

"Go, before more questions are asked," Shepard said. I nodded for Turro and Pyke to join the others, but shot Morinth a look that told her to wait. As Samara passed us, she turned to me.

" _Seneschal,_ before the next time you throw yourself in front of… _her_ , ask her what horrible crime Nef on Omega had done to deserve death at her hands..."

Morinth paled at her mother's words, but before I could ask either of them a question, Vasir strode up to the Illium Security captain, who opened her mouth to ask what was sure to be the first of several pointless questions, but Vasir cut her off.

"Spectre business," she said, her Omni-Tool flashing her credentials. "take these Eclipse into custody for the attempted murder of an Asari Justicar, and assault upon a Council Spectre. NOW."

The captain wisely shut her mouth, choosing instead to merely nod and begin ordering her officers to load the prisoners onto the incoming police shuttles.

"Well, Shepard," Tela said, turning to the human with a coy smile, "You're every bit as good as they say you are. Maybe I should get you to sign my _breast_ plate…"

Shepard ignored the bait, instead nodding at the prostrate form of Jona Sederis.

"What are we going to do about _her?_ "

"WE?" Tela asked incredulously. "I. I have orders to bring her in to the Citadel, under the express wish of the Council of Thirty on Thessia. Plus, the Shadow Broker also is paying me a handsome sum to get her off the playing field. All in all, this is a great day for me…"

I smiled.

 _Aethyta and Liara BOTH using their political muscle to get rid of Jona Sederis? Like father, like daughter…_

Shepard smiled and stuck out a hand.

"Enjoy the credit. It's the least I can do for your help."

Tela arched an eyebrow and shook Shepard's hand.

"You're as stand-up as they say you are, too…. I can see what that T'Soni girl sees in you."

She turned and biotically picked up Sederis' body.

"Good to finally meet you. See you around the galaxy, Shepard!"

Shepard smiled back.

"Maybe. Can you give me a lift back to the _Normandy?_ "

Vasir loaded her prisoner in the back.

"Hop in," the asari said, smiling.

"Shepard…" I started.

"Not now, Ko'le," Rebecca said, holding up a hand. "Later, but not now. Let's just get the hell out of the fucked-up city."

She turned and got into the passenger seat of Vasir's skycar. Vasir then took off towards nearby shipyards, the same direction our shuttle had headed only moments earlier.

Which just left the two of us in a now-empty courtyard. Which, except the broken walls, windows and blood stains, you'd never know there was a battle waged there only _minutes_ before.

* * *

 ***SOME TIME LATER*  
** **CSV _Indomitable_**

"Ko'le…" Morinth said, closing the door of my cabin behind her. "I'm sorry."

"What about Nef on Omega?" I asked slowly.

"Ko'le…"

"You had to kill," I said, "I understand that. But you were on _fucking OMEGA_. You had your pick of scum-bags, rapists and murderers to choose from. Why did you go after _only_ virgin human on the station?"

"I…" she began.

"WHY?"

"I couldn't take their voices anymore! I…When a… When I… _consume_ somebody," Morinth explained, "I take their _memories_. Their past, their feelings…"

"Yes, I know this," I interrupted impatiently. "I know the killing is not in your control. But what _is_ in your control is _who_ you kill…"

"But I also take…THEM."

I stopped, dread creeping over me.

"Explain…"

Morinth took in a ragged breath.

"After I escaped," she explained slowly. "I killed a serial killer on Thessia. One of my first victims. I had killed a Justicar escaping the monastery, and my head was suddenly filled with thoughts of justice and judgement. I killed him because he _deserved to die_. I tracked him down, and I gained justice for his victims. But then…immediately after I killed him…I felt his…DRIVE…to kill. I have to fight it, even to this day."

A sickening feeling hit my stomach.

"Pirates, prostitutes, monks, mob bosses, slavers, and saints: I've killed them all," Morinth continued. "And I carry each and _every_ _ONE_ of them…here," she pointed to her head. "Then…I met you."

"And I kept feeding you _monsters_ ," I said, understanding dawning on me, with equal parts of shame. "Why didn't you _tell me?"_

"You were the first person to ever look at me as a _person_ , and not a monster," Morinth said. "You were the first person to ever _GIVE_ me people for my…curse. What could I say? 'Sorry, Ko'le, but I need to kill _innocent_ people too?' What could I say?"

There was a moment of silence.

"When you sent me to Omega," she said. "I felt it all…bubbling over. I was _killing_ , and loving the _killing_. Not even for _food_ : just for sport. It helped me infiltrate Eclipse, to be sure…but I knew it wasn't me. Not really, not…ME, me. Nef was…she was _sweet_. She was good, she was kind, she was innocent. She was…"

"…What you needed," I finished, closing my eyes as I realized exactly _what_ Morinth had been living with since her birth.

"She quieted the voices," Morinth admitted, a tear rolling down the side of her face. "She _still_ quiets them. I can _hear her_ , Ko'le… in my _mind._ "

"And that turian… on Korlus?"

"Marius Bennodar," Morinth rattled off. "Middle child of a military family. Driven by honor, loyalty and integrity. Joined the Blue Suns out of loyalty to his father, a one-time member. Served under Jedore out of a sense of personal honor, regardless of his chances for victory. He fought Kuril on principle: to put down criminals and rapists."

"So now you feel his sense of duty, honor?" I asked.

"Yes, but only slightly more than before," Morinth admitted. "He's hardly the first turian I've had. But yes…I feel _his_ thoughts. _HIS_ honor. _His_ loyalty."

I felt like someone had twisted a knife in my gut.

 _You did not know, Kevin. None of us did._

 _She did what she had to in order to survive._

 _The fault does not lie with you._

"You should have told me," I said, my voice breaking. "I would have _helped you…"_

"Oh, Ko'le," Morinth said tenderly, stroking the side of my face. "There is _no help_ for me…"

And that is when I connected us with a Mind-Share. She took in a sudden gasp as both of our eyes turned white. And we were suddenly standing on a White Plain.

" _Oh, my…. Goddess…"_

" _Welcome to my Mind-Palace, Mirala."_

" _The voices…The voices…"_

" _There is no one else here, Mirala. Just you. And just me."_

" _I haven't been alone…for SO LONG…and then…I'm SO ALONE ALL THE TIME."_

Sharp and ragged sobs shook his body as she collapsed to her hands and knees. I bent down and gently touched her shoulder. She whirled around and wrapped me in a bear-hug.

" _Just hold me?"_ she pleaded mentally. _"Please…please…Please…"_

" _Shhh…"_ I crooned, gingerly placing a hand on the back of her crest. _"Rest now, Mirala of Thessia_."

" _Will you be here when I awake?"_

The pain and innocence of the question was enough to break your heart. I leaned back in the white nothingness, the asari huntress nuzzling in my crook of my neck. It honestly wasn't even vaguely sensual. It was just two friends, finding comfort in each other's presence.

" _Always."_

She drifted off to sleep, her body slumping over in the real-world. I caught her even as she fell, our eyes still both burning white, holding her sleeping body in my arms.

"Always."

* * *

 **A/N: Thanks, everybody for all your patience. This story honestly went through about four or five different versions. I hope it meets with your approval. But please let me know what you think, and leave your thoughts in either a review or PM. We're moving back to Haestrom next week, to recruit the remaining few members of our crew…whoops, Spoilers…*wink*.**

 **For those who may not know, I've posted another short story to "Tales from Starlight Station," featuring Klaang and Drot and their further adventures in the Conclave. Check it out and let me know whatcha think!**

 **Thanks everybody, for being AWESOME! ROCK ON!**

 **-Tusken1602**

* * *

Reviewer Responses:

Lord Mortem, AlsoKnownAsMatt, dragons guard, Tahkaullus, jackli10345, Deathknight999, general-joseph-dickson, Pietersielie – Hope you guys liked the reunion. Still clearly a SHIT TON of tension still left, but we'll burn that bridge when we come to it!

Blaze1992 – Thanks! I just thought Thane's recruitment mission was oddly detached from the game, and seemed to go seamlessly with Miranda's loyalty mission (Eclipse is the bad guy in both).

Katkiller-V – Glad you noticed. :D Looking forward to the next chapter of Another Realm V: Einherjar!

Bearmauls – I am to misbehave…. ;)

KyuubiNodachi, RakSandman – I have plans for Basher, he's fun to write for, and I hope I can get a little bit of everybody to have their moment in the spotlight. I really want to showcase everybody, as they all have so much to bring to the table.

Nagato21, BrotherCaptainSheperd – Ko'le CAN in fact play the Game of Thrones, and play it well!

Asahar4, axissun01 – You didn't miss anything. All will be explained in the chapters to come!

the-new-kid-Death – I KNOW, RIGHT!?

tamagat – Not as far as I know…

Warrior19, Appbeza, Elivsfonz23, redcollector, Guest, shugokage, BJ Hanssen, Zeru'Xil, ArmoredSky – thanks! You are all awesome! YOU INSPIRE ME to keep writing!

May the Father below accept you when your time comes, and until then, may the Mother keep you always.

EE-RAH!


	16. Chapter 16: Normandy Briefing

Hello, everyone, and welcome to StarView, brought to you by Citadel Galactic News, a subsidiary of Future Content Corporation. I'm your host, Aiden Polonius, coming to you live from the Citadel Presidium!

Today, Donnell Udina responded to the rumors of human colonies in the Terminus Systems coming under attack in recent months. WE go now to the live coverage of the press conference:

 _Udina: Thanks to Conclave suppression of formerly safe pirate havens in the Terminus, we have seen an increase in raiding activity against some of our smaller settlements. We have deployed several of our battle groups to protect our citizens from the dangers these rabble present, however slight. But make no mistake: The Citadel Council stands united in our desire to ensure the protection and safety of our all citizens, no matter their location."_

 _*Reporter: Councilor, is it true that you are working in concert with the Conclave for the protection of these colonies?_

 _Udina: We are working in close coordination with not only Conclave forces, but also multiple Hegemony fleets in the sector to work towards bringing the light of civilization to this formerly dark and lawless sector of space. I'm sorry, that's all the time I have for questions. Thank you all, thank you…_

Polonius: We will keep you appraised of this multi-governmental cooperative military action in the Terminus Systems.

And now, to the news you've all been waiting for: Cassadar, the hanar actor famous for his titular role in the _Blasto_ series, has concluded negotiations with Infinity Studios for a _sixth_ addition to the franchise. Current working title for the picture is _Blasto 6: Partners in Crime_ , and producer Zhanmari Erinaceus has hinted that famous elcor actor Killox is in talks to be Blasto's new elcor partner. More on this exciting news right after….

* * *

 ***SHEPARD*  
CSV **_**Normandy**_ **SR-2**

Garrus hit the 'off' switch on the screen in a guttural growl of disgust.

"Typical Udina," he said, his mandibles working in frustration as he raised his hands and did his best Udina impression, "Let's just sweep this whole problem under a rug and hope nobody decides to sweep."

"Understandable reaction: wish to deny reality of threat, and at the same time avoid admitting lack of preparedness," Mordin mused. He looked around at the faces of the _Normandy_ squad. "Understandable, not excusable," he clarified. "He's still an idiot."

Nods and smiles of agreement went around the table. Shepard took a deep breath and leaned forward, looking each of her team in the eye. When she got to Miranda, she nodded. Miranda pulled up her Omni-Tool, typed a few keys, and a blue energy wave pulsed over the room.

"I have disabled EDI's monitoring of this room, Commander," Miranda answered. "She cannot enter or hear anything that is said."

"Are you sure?" Garrus asked.

"I am very good at what I do, Mr. Vakarian," Miranda said, confidently, but not condescendingly like she normally did. Since her sister's rescue, her attitude towards the rest of the crew had thawed considerably. "It will keep her out."

"I would like to state for the record, that I think this is totally unnecessary," Jacob said, "EDI has been a loyal member of the Conclave as long as I've known her. She's not sinister, and she's not a threat to us."

"It's _because_ she's loyal to the Conclave that I took this step, not because of what she _is_ , Jacob," Rebecca answered gently. "She calls Ko'le 'Dad.' I don't want to put her in a position of choosing between us and him."

Jacob slumped back in his chair, crossing his arms in front of him.

"I called everyone here because we need to have an honest talk about the Conclave, and how far we can trust them, in light of recent events," Rebecca continued. "Ko'le has been with us as long as Liara has, and he fought Saren at the Citadel, probably buying us enough time to get there, at great personal cost. Before today, I would have said I trusted him with my life. But recently…"

"He has shown that he is not above deceit, even to those he considers friends," Samara added. "He _lied_ to me about Morinth, and there is at least one young girl on Omega who is dead because of it."

"I lost a lot of people on Omega too," Garrus agreed in a low voice. "We were waiting for reinforcements and fighting overwhelming odds. And then come to find out that we were nothing but _bait_ for Ko'le's trap. He could have had the Eclipse and the Talons turn at any time. But he waited until the last second, and most of my team is dead because of it."

His fists clenched in an expression Shepard recognized from their years together as anger.

"There were only a few people who knew of our mission to Beckenstein," Kasumi added, "And the fact remains that Keiji had information on the Conclave that he claims was BIG. It…would have been an easy thing to arrange for Hock to kill him."

"And then Leng killed Hock before we could interrogate him, even after Kasumi spared him," Liara said.

"I find it… unlikely… that my son just _happens_ to be a member of his crew, and a close member of his entourage," Thane spoke up. "I can't help but wonder what might have happened to Kolyat if I had refused this job… _NOT_ I wouldn't have taken it on principle," he added quickly, holding up a hand to Jacob, who choked back whatever remark he was about to make.

"Using children as a means of coercion is a fairly common tactic in STG," Mordin said, gesturing to Samara and Thane. "The _Seneschal_ has shown a great penchant for identifying emotional weak points for at least… 5 individuals at this table," he said, flicking his eyes around the room. "The record logs of the _Hugo Gernsback_ show that the information had been logged for almost more than a year. And yet he chose to wait until _now_ to relay this information to Mr. Taylor."

"And how long had he been sitting on this _Pragia_ shit before deciding to give it to me?" Jack asked, turning a knife over and over in her hand. "Seems awfully convenient… too fucking easy. Rule #1 on the streets: if something sounds too good to be true, it FUCKING IS."

"And on top of that, as it turns out, Ko'le sent a _warning_ to Jona Sederis that we were coming, putting everyone on the team, including Oriana, at risk," Shepard said, exhaling slowly. Miranda started, as if realizing this for the first time. "And he could have brought anyone with him, but chose to bring your Ardat-Yakshi daughter on the squad to come recruit _you_ , Samara?"

The Justicar nodded. "It does seem…inadvisable, at best," she agreed.

"We've already seen that there's a darker side to Ko'le," Liara added, joining the conversation. "We've encountered…Beast…before. Ko'le's been through hardships and trials we couldn't begin to _imagine_. Is it possible that the friend I uncovered at Therum, the comrade we made, whom many of us _DO_ trust and love, is losing himself to a monster we do not know?"

"Possible," Mordin admitted, "Multiple personality hypothesis: Problematic. Unknown what triggers switch between personalities, aside from exposure to violence or physical harm. Both of which, on a mission of this scale, that might be…troubling."

"And an… _Ardat-Yakshi_?" Liara said, "The fact that Ko'le would _know about her_ … and then _not tell us…"_

"Morinth's influence is considerable, and over time, she has corrupted even the most resilient of minds," Samara explained. "It is possible that he did not _know_ she was an Ardat-Yakshi at the time he recruited her, and she has used her powers and wiles to win her way into his confidence. That is the only explanation that sounds plausible to me."

Shepard grimaced.

"BULLSHIT."

All eyes turned to Zaeed sitting on the other side of the table. He was sitting there with fist clenched where he had slammed it against the desk.

"I've been Ko'le longer than _any_ of you here," he said through nearly gritted teeth." He gave up the tactical offensive on the Citadel to save my godson. He could have taken over the Blue Suns himself, if he'd wanted to. Or killed me to win Vido Santiago over onto his side. Hell, with the Conclave Fleet, he could have invaded _any_ of your homeworlds and there wouldn't have been a FUCKING thing the Council, the Hegemony, or ANY-FUCKING-BODY could have done to stop him."

He pointed a finger at Samara.

"He could have killed you on Starlight Station, and _nobody_ would have found your body, Justicar."

At Garrus:

"Have you ever seen an all-out gang war on Omega, Vakarian? 'Cause _I fucking have_ , and it's a goddam meat grinder. Ko'le _had_ to wait until the last minute to make sure none of those sonsabitches escaped to carry war and death up and down the station for the next decade. I'm sorry you lost friends, mate. I've been there. But believe you me, that was _nothing_ compared to the body count it would have been if even _one_ of those fuckers had escaped."

At Kasumi:

"He could have killed you, or taken your lad's greybox for himself. But he gave it back to ya, didn't he? Did he tell ya wot to do with it? No. Just gave it to ya, free and clear."

At Jacob and Jack:

"He gave you two what you needed when you needed it. No, he didn't come alongside ya to hold your fukkin' hands, but he kinda had a goddam _country_ to run, and about 70 _billion_ lives at risk. He gave it to ya when he found it, and he didn't _have to_ do a fukkin' thing. Could've told you there was nothing to tell, and you couldn't have proved otherwise, could ya?"

At Liara and Samara:

"Yeah, we knew that girl was gonna be trouble. I didn't know she was a Arda-whatever-she-is, but we weren't really in a position to turn down good help at the time: too busy saving the gorram day. Same goes for your boy, Krios," he said to Thane. "Your boy's done a _damn_ fine job all by himself. You should be proud of him, and Ko'le probably brought him along to give you two the chance to meet up again."

He glared around the room.

"Ko'le Seneshcal has done more for this galaxy than anybody elses, while Shepard here's been down. For that matter, it would have been easy to talk Jane into _being_ Shepard. Would have saved, what, _millions_ of credits?" he asked Miranda.

" _Billions_ ," she agreed, nodding.

"He's gone above and beyond to do right by everyone in this room," Zaeed continued, "Hasn't been perfect at it, but show me someone who _has_ , and I'll show you a _liar_."

Everyone was silent at the mercenary's rebuke. Grunt was the one to break the silence.

"There's an old krogan saying Okeer's hammered into my head," he said finally. "When you extend your hand in friendship, be sure your other hand holds your knife."

Jack chuckled.

"Sound advice. Can't hurt to keep an eye on anyone, can it?"

Shepard ran her fingers through her hair.

"I'm not sure _what_ to think. On one hand, I have one of the few people I could call a true friend. On the other hand, I have a black-eyed stranger who I know _nothing_ about."

"Maybe we should…" Liara started. But then suddenly the lights in the room went red. Hands went to weapons and biotics flared as everyone collectively wondered what the hell was going on. Then golden figure walked _through_ the door.

" **Commander,"** EDI said, saluting. **"Forgive the intrusion; I had decided to respect your privacy, but an emergency dictated I breach Miss Lawson's firewall** _ **.**_ **We are receiving an emergency message, keyed for the** _ **Normandy**_ **'s unique Quantum Entanglement address. I cannot trace the origin point of the transmission."**

"How the hell does an outsider have our QEA? This is a brand-new ship!" wondered Miranda.

"Patch it through, EDI," Shepard said.

" **Right away, Commander. I am standing by on all cyber-warfare suites."**

The room darkened, and the crew stood up as the table descended into the floor.

"You're 'very good at what you do,' are you?" Garrus spoke to Miranda, glancing at EDI then at her.

"Shut up, Garrus," Miranda retorted, but she looked genuinely confused and slightly concerned.

The central Holo-projector activated to reveal the shoulders and face of a very familiar Quarian.

"TALI!?" Garrus, Shepard, and Liara all said simultaneously.

" **JANE!? IS THAT YOU?!"** came a garbled reply. **"Oh, thank the ancestors...(** _ **static)…**_ **worked! WE…(** _ **static)**_ **HELP!"**

"EDI, can you clean this up?" Shepard asked.

" **I can only try, Commander."**

The image sharpened, slightly.

" **DID YOU COPY?"** asked Tali, slightly clearly now.

"Tali, where are you?" Shepard asked.

" **STILL ON HAESTROM,"** the quarian answered. **"YOU'VE GOT TO TELL KO'LE…wait…SHEPARD!? GARRUS? LIARA? HOW….how…?"**

"We'll explain it all later, Tali," Garrus interrupted, "but first: WHERE ARE YOU and WHAT IS WRONG?"

Tali still looked _very_ confused, but then drew back her shoulders.

" **I've only got a few seconds before the wormhole collapses, so I'll save my million-and-a-half questions. You have to tell Ko'le and Javik: AGWE HAS GONE MAD. Can you do that? 'AGWE HAS GONE MAD.' They'll know what that means. We need help, Shepard! Agwe found a..."**

Then the transmission cut off, suddenly and abruptly.

"Tali? TALI?" Shepard asked.

" **The transmission has ended, Commander,"** EDI answered. **"I am unable to re-establish connection, but I will forward Haestrom's location and information on the planet to the CIC."**

"Send word to Ko'le and the _Indomitable_ what has happened," Shepard said, as her squad-members leapt into action, each to fill their own respective duties on the ship.

" **Already done, Commander."**

"JOKER?"

" **EDI patched me in, Commander,"** the Normandy's pilot answered. **"Already have a course laid in. ETA in the Dholen System: Twelve hours. And that's pushing it…** "

"DO IT," Shepard confirmed, walking into the bustling CIC and activating the Galaxy Map. Kelly handed her a datapad with the information EDI had mentioned. Shepard perused the contents, but couldn't really focus beyond the picture of Tali on the front page of the report.

"We've got a family member in danger," she murmured.

" **Aye-aye, Ma'am."**

* * *

 **A/N: Wow, twenty-eight reviews in just the first day. Thought I'd show my appreciation for your insightful thoughts and kind words by giving you Tali's brief re-introduction to Rebecca Shepard, as well as a kind of "take-stock" moment on the** _ **Normandy**_ **(a taking of the squad's temperature, if you will…).**

 **Next chapter: Return to the Burning Planet. Or maybe, "Dark Planet Rises?"**

 **There's a Batman reference in there somewhere, I know it.**

 **Anyway, ROCK ON, you guys!**

 **-Tusken1602**

* * *

Reviewer Responses:

KyuubiNodatchi , Bearmauls, Nagato21, Biorr the Old, griezz, METALHELLSPWN, Zeru'Xil, tamagat, Pietersielie, Guest, BJ Hanssen – Thanks! The canon Morinth was just too one-dimensional for me. I mean, WHO in their right mind would go for that? There _had_ to be a reason she would target the _one person_ on this giant station that _somebody would actually miss!_

Toothless is best , Tahuaullus01, Blaze1992 – It's another progression in their relationship, but I don't really have any plans to ship Morinth/Ko'le. Besides, right now, he's still with Ashley, and he's not the cheating type. Or the harem type. I think this could best be described as Morinth's loyalty mission…

AlsoKnownAsMatt – Appreciate the thoughts, my friend! I'm not really trying to _stick_ to canon, so on the stuff like Sederis, I'm extrapolating, or just taking bits from other fanfics that I enjoy (with the authors' permissions). Yeah, SI's are kinda about ego, if you think about it, and I'm trying not to be TOO guilty of that, so I appreciate reviewers like you to keep me honest!

redcollector – Neither can I. *wink*

BrotherCaptainSheperd, Squadpunk 2.0 – It's a long way from the Collector's Base to the monastery of Lesuss… "just sayin'."

mangalover521 – Ko'le is experienced, yes, but he also is not all-poweful. He also doesn't have the _centuries_ of experience these asari have, either (remember, he's been in stasis since the Fall of the Protheans).

Katkiller-V – I KNOW YOU WOULD! ;) There will be more fights to come….and not everyone comes out of battle unscathed.

aleone84, dragons guard, jackli10345, Elvisfonz23, shugokage, Lord Mortem, Guest - :D Thanks, guys! I appreciate it! Glad you liked it so much!

* * *

May the Father below accept you when your time comes, and until then, may the Mother keep you always.

EE-RAH!


	17. Chapter 17: Return to Darkness

***HAESTROM*  
DHOLEN SYSTEM  
FAR RIM  
**

"I. FUCKING. HATE. THIS. PLANET!"

My every word was punctuated by my trigger pulls, firing at the geth units that were attempting to flank us. My shields were almost completely gone by now, and I was supplementing them with my biotic barriers. Even so, a stray shot struck my shoulder, burning a dark gash across the polished golden surface. I reached out with my biotics, lifting the offending geth rifleman up into the air and slamming against a fallen pillar.

"And yet, _Imperator_ , fate seems to draw you to it, time and time again." Turro's droll observation was followed by his targeting a geth Hopper unit, bringing the geth tumbling down to the ground mid-jump between the pylons.

I had to admit, his _Hak'kam_ Rifle was a beast of a thing, but now its rate of fire was no longer dependent on the strength of the user's arm. It was perhaps a fraction less powerful, but a half-second's hold on the trigger would take care of any harder-to-kill foes we encountered.

 _Mental Note: forward specs of Hak'kam Rifle to Conclave R &D._

As we rounded the next corner, two bodies in the street drew my attention. Both of them were quarians, and from the looks of things, they hadn't been dead long. One of them still clutched a hand-held radio.

" **Bravo Squad, come in! Come in! Lukat, can you hear me?!"**

I sighed as I picked up the radio.

"Bravo Squad is down. This is the _Imperator_ , with Conclave reinforcements. Can you give me a sit-rep?"

" **IMPERA…. SIR, Squad Leader Kal'Reegar. We are currently facing geth reinforcements, and Magi Agwe seems to have gone rogue!"**

 _Kal'Reegar. You glorious bastard…._

"What happened, Reegar?" I asked, "What happened with Agwe?"

" **Couldn't say, sir. Went crazy one day, killed the detachment of marines that was with him, and disappeared into the ruins. Near as we can figure, he's seized control of a few heretic geth platforms, but Miss Zorah and Mira could tell you more than me about that."**

"Where are they?" I asked "We'll rendezvous with you and move towards them!"

" **Magi Agwe made a big push last night. Overran our Command post. Tali and Mira are organizing our counterattack. I'm trying to hold off the Heretics until they can… INCOMING!"**

A geth drop ship roared overhead, multiple units dropping like miniature dummy bombs: Hunters, Riflemen, and what looked like two Primes.

Shepard looked over at me, and nodded.

"Snipers go high?" she asked.

I nodded back at her.

"Heavy hitters to the front, tech and biotics behind," I replied, catching my Rifle where I had set it down.

"Forward!"

"EE-rah!"

Our groups surged forward, taking the geth wave head-on.

It was…oh…words fail me.

It was _glorious_.

Garrus, Thane, Shepard, Turro, and Kolyat rained death from above, their rifles barking in a quick succession.

Mordin chucked an Incinerate, striking a geth before it could recover from its 30-meter drop. The smell of burning oil filled the already acrid air. Reyna overloaded the two geth units nearest to her, then started a hack module on another.

Tallaxis and Pyke's SMGs sputtered out death and destruction, covering Leng's and Kasumi's cloaked dashes behind the enemy positions, where their weapons spread confusion and doubt amongst our synthetic foes.

I saw Grunt tackle a Prime at the knees, with Basher riding its back as it fell, his shotgun blasting away bits of the platform's head in chunks.

Jane threw her knife as she vented her rifle, then recalled it with her mag-glove. The blade flew back into her hand, and she tossed it to Zaeed, who spun and hurled it into another rising geth's flashlight head.

Then there were the biotics.

HOLY. HELL.

Shockwaves from Jack blasted geth from their protective cover, where Jacob and Miranda pulled, pushed and slammed them against the ruins around us. The stubborner ones, however, received the full attention of an asari Justicar and an Ardat Yakshi. Twin artificially-generated black holes literally ripped geth units in half with the gravity torsion fields, and Liara took out a sniper by bringing down the stones above it, crushing the geth beneath half-ton boulders.

And in between, Javik and I darted back and forth, offering support and assistance to any of our enemies that proved more unwilling to be dead.

We were, with no false humility or danger of pride or overstatement, a Wind of Death.

 _The Collectors_ _don't stand a chance..._

Within a matter of minutes, the horde of reinforcements that the dropship had unleashed was lying in scrap around us.

"REGROUP! CHECK YOUR HEAT-SINKS!" Shepard called out, Widow rifle folding up and her M-5 Phalanx heavy pistol deploying in a single, effortless motion.

Grunt ejected the heat-sink from his Claymore, then head-butted Basher, who toppled to the ground from the unexpected blow.

"STEAL my glory again, TUBE-LING, and I will destroy you," Grunt said, stepping over the clone.

"HEY! ASSHOLE!" Jane said, coming to Basher's rescue.

"Jane," Basher said, raising a hand to stop her. "It's alright."

"The HELL it is…" Jane said, starting to walk after the hulking figure, but Basher then grabbed her arm as she passed.

"He is right," he said, trying to calm her down. "I stole his kill. It is his right, as the First-Born of our Father."

Jane started to object, but then a confused look crossed her face.

"Aren't _you_ at least seven days older than that…Grunt?"

Basher shook his head.

"He was Okeer's beloved. And me? I am…imperfect…"

The juvenile krogan picked up his Katana shotgun and resumed his place, trudging after the larger figure of his "brother."

Jane looked over at me, and saw that my pained expression matched hers.

"I swear to God, Ko'le, that Grunts hits Basher _one more time_ …"

"It's the krogan version of sibling rivalry," I said, half-shrugging. "Best not to get involved, Jane."

"It's the krogan version of _bullying_ , and I won't stand for it!" Jane said, checking her weapon's heat level before we sprinted to the next spot of shade.

As we made our way through the disturbingly familiar ruins, we encountered no more resistance, outside of the occasional geth sniper, who would usually only get one shot off before one of our snipers would take it out.

"Hey, Grunt!" Shepard called out, "What are you at?"

"Twelve," Grunt growled back, glaring at Basher, who seemed to shrink into his armor.

"Huh," Shepard said, continuing forward.

"Why? What are _you at?"_

"Sixteen, but it's no big deal."

"Sixteen, huh?" Garrus said, "You're out of practice Shepard. I'm a solid three kills ahead. But that's ok, we'll just chalk it up to the year and a half nap you took, while the rest of us did the _real work_."

"Oh, it's on, Vakarian," Shepard said, giving a wicked look to the turian. "A Bottle of Serrice Ice against a bottle of Imperial Palavan."

"Done," the detective replied back, smiling.

"Make it a case of the winner's choice of alcohol, and I'm in, Vakarian _-sho_ ," Turro'le interjected, his _Hak'kam_ rifle _ThRUMMING_ to life.

"Oh _Ho,_ ante UP, Shepard!" Garrus chuckled at the Raloian's challenge.

Shepard simply reached up to engage her targeting scope, nearly identical to Garrus', that she was wearing in lieu of a helmet.

"I'll see your case, Turro'le," the Spectre chuckled.

This of course, brought Jack and Zaeed into the betting pool, and Grunt, and Jacob, Jane, and Miranda, as well as Pyke, Morinth, and Tallaxis. Reyna stayed quiet, as did the pair of drell and the Justicar. Liara was also characteristically quiet.

"Ko'le? You in?" asked Shepard.

"Frivolous games such gambling was punishable by _death_ in my cycle, Commander," I said, in the harshest voice I could muster. "I have no need for _games_."

I then turned and smiled at Shepard's slightly confused reaction to my words.

"That said, I'm at twenty-three."

On my left, I heard Javik snort in amusement.

Over the next ridge, we heard the sound of distant gunfire, including the unmistakable sound of a Geth Colossus firing its head-cannon.

Frivolity was cast aside as we sprung back into action, fanning out to get a vantage point on the scene below us.

A squad of quarian marines scrambled from rubble pile to rubble pile, firing rockets at the massive hulking figure keeping them at bay. The only trouble was, whenever one or two scored a hit, the geth unit would fold down into its 'Maintenance' mode, repairing any damage the marines had inflicted.

Shepard relayed a plan of action to each of our HUD's complete with orders and assignments. The Colossus drew itself up in its signature firing stance.

"NOW!"

At the Spectre's signal, _four_ biotic Singularities blossomed around the geth heavy unit's head. The massive ball of energy, directed at the quarians, fell prey to the titanic gravitational forces inflicted upon it, spinning around for a complete 180-degree change of direction, looping back towards its point of origin.

Which was, of course, the colossus' head.

The head exploded in a twisting groaning mass of shearing metal. The neck of the geth looked like a blossomed flower, with metal petals stretching in every direction.

Javik, myself, and the other biotics leapt forward, our biotics dispersing the impact of our landings out in wide biotic explosions. The rest of the squad began fast-roping down, ascension cables secured to the small of their backs, leaving their hands free to fire their respective weapons as they descended.

With our biotic artillery barrage scattering the remaining heretic units, the fight was too uneven to last long. A familiar-looking quarian made his way towards me, saluting.

"Squad Leader Kal'Reegar, Conclave Marines, sir! We spoke on the radio before that dropship arrived."

"Good to meet you, Reegar. Where are Tali and Mira?"

"West of our position, sir: trying to take back the Anvil?"

"Come again?" asked Shepard. "What's the Anvil?"

"Don't rightly know, ma'am," Kal answered honestly. "I'm just the guy who shoots at geth. I'm not paid enough or educated enough to know all the science and history stuff.

I just know that Tali and Mira had found some kind of Temple and the ancients called it "The Anvil." We then start looking around for a second location in the city referred to as "The Hammer." They all agreed it seemed to be an ancient weapon of some sort, and Agwe was looking for old tech. Then suddenly I'm down three men and Agwe is gone. Then the heretic geth start speaking with Agwe's voice."

"Agwe got control of them?"

Kal shrugged.

"At least some of them. It's been a weird three-way battle ever since then. Agwe has the Hammer and he's been pushing to gain control of the Anvil. Something we've been preventing him from doing…until last night."

"Your Command Post was the Anvil?"

"That's right. Tali and Mira are trying to launch a counterattack now, but between the heretics and Agwe's force…we've been overrun. Bravo Squad was my right flank…Now the six of us are it."

"Keep your men here, Reegar," Shepard said. "We'll move to support the offensive."

"Roger than, ma'am," Reegar agreed. "Keep Tali and Mira safe for me. We'll hold them here and keep them off your flanks. _Keelah se'lai_."

We moved left, mostly heading for the sound of gunfire. It grew louder and louder, and we began to see more and more geth heretic platforms, and here and there, the blasted shell of a New Geth.

"Comms are still down thanks to this god-damned sun," Shepard complained. "Seriously, Ko'le, you bring us to all the nice places…"

"What can I say?" I asked, shrugging. "The Consort was booked."

We rounded a corner to see a massive YMIR mech driving a two-handed _Zweihander_ sword through the body of a Prime, pinning it to a wall. The head swiveled towards us and I held up a hand to my team.

"Ko'le- _Seneschal_ ," the massive mech stated, bringing an arm across its chest. "Your arrival was unexpected. But certainly not unwelcome."

"Thank you," I replied. "What is the identifier of the platform in front of us?"

"We are called Berserk," the YMIR replied, giving a very modest bow. "Creator-Tali and Mira-Prophet will be pleased to see you. They are currently in the Old Market, attempting repairs to our damaged. This platform was ordered to ' _drive those bosh'tets back!'_ We will continue to do so."

His perfect playback of Tali's voice caused me to smile, and I nodded at the mech-turned-platform.

"Carry on, Berserk."

"Thank you, sir."

We walked past, Shepard keeping abreast with me.

"New Geth?" she asked.

"New Geth."

The end of the corridor opened out onto a wide open space that we could only assume was the Old Market Berserk had mentioned. A group of oddly mismatched individuals gathered in a huddle on the far side. One of them, looking for all the world like a _goddamn_ _centaur_ , caught sight of us and engaged the assault rifle that was his left arm.

"ALERT: UNKNOWN ARMED COMBATANTS APPROACHING."

"Chiron, let me handle this," Tali said, placing a hand on the centaur's weapon to lower it. The quarian slowly walked towards us, staring very intently at the human woman next to me.

"Shepard? Is that… _You're alive?"_

Shepard smiled, but I could see tears starting to form.

"Remember when I gave you that geth data, Tali?" she asked. "Did it help you complete your pilgrimage?"

Tali brought her two hands up to her vocabulator on her helmet.

"Yes…it did…"

Then she flung herself forward, throwing her arms around the human Spectre.

"Oh, _Keelah!_ I never thought it would… I thought for _sure that_ … It's SO GOOD TO SEE YOU!"

Shepard laughed, returning the fierce hug.

"It's good to see you too, Tali," she replied, her voice choked with emotion.

"And…you're here?!"

"Well, I wouldn't be, but you know Garrus," Shepard said, gesturing to the turian, who had stepped forwards with the strangest look on his face. "He's always gotta come save the day…"

"Yeah," Tali said, smiling at him, "Like the big idiot he is…Hello, Garrus."

"Um…Hey Tali," the turian replied, far from smoothly.

"Umm…good to see you, little one," I interrupted.

" _Hello_ , Ko'le," Tali laughed, giving me a hug.

"Where's Mira?" I asked.

Tali's expression turned serious and she nodded towards the group. I walked away, hearing Shepard starting to ask questions about what exactly was going on here.

The group in front of me parted, revealing a feminine, Medusa-like female kneeling beside the body of a giant cybernetic eagle. Her hand patted the frame before she stood to her feet.

"Hey, boss." Mira's voice was full of grim sorrow. "Here to save us once again, eh?"

"You know me," I said, "a beautiful A.I. calls, and I come running."

"Every time," Mira replied with a chuckle, turning to give me a hug. Her android face's lips were pursed, and her cybernetic eyes squeezed shut as she held me close.

"Mira…what happened?"

Mira stepped back.

"In the ruins of the old quarian city, we found…we found a chamber that the ancient Khellish called "The Anvil." But it _predated_ the rest of the city by thousands of years!"

I furrowed my brow.

"There were no Prothean colonies on Haestrom…"

"That's what stumped Agwe, too," Mira agreed. "But the Anvil made references to a sister-site called "The Hammer." It seemed to be some kind of weapon…. Anyway, Agwe became _obsessed_ with finding it. He would go off for _hours_ while the rest of us continued our archeological dig. Then one day… _he found it_. And he took a pistol to his three quarian guards. Then he disappeared for a while, but showed back up, bringing about a thousand new friends with him. Somehow, he'd found a way to _hack_ them all. Purge them of their heretic code entirely. They're just empty slave mechs now, using geth platforms. He activated the Hammer, and the dark energy levels in the atmosphere _skyrocketed_. Our ship tried to make a run for it, but it got shot down out of the sky. And we've been stuck here ever since, trying to keep him from getting the Anvil once the Hammer was fully charged."

She gestured to the New Geth corpse beside us.

"We failed."

Javik and Shepard walked over to us, with Shepards eyeing the _VERY_ modified geth with no small degree of suspicion.

"What do you think, Ko'le?" she asked me. "Indoctrinated, maybe?"

Javik shook his head.

"From what Tali has described, it does not sound like it."

"You mean _besides_ somebody going crazy and starting to kill people?"

"No, he's right, Shepard," I interjected, "Indoctrinated never retain their personalities or their reason. Agwe seems to have done both. And you say that the Hammer and Anvil are Prothean?"

Mira shook her head.

"Agwe didn't think so. He said it was nothing like he'd ever seen before."

"Then we should – "

My sentence was interrupted by a sniper shot going off like a thunderclap. A round passed _right_ between the four of us, impacting with a brilliant display of color against what _appeared_ to be an empty doorway…

…but then the Geth Hunter de-cloaked. Largely to do with the _massive hole_ in its chest.

It swayed momentarily, then fell forward on its face. Weapons were in our hands the instant we had heard the shot, but no other foes presented themselves.

"Who fired the shot?" Shepards yelled out. "Garrus? Thane? Kolyat?"

"Not me?"

"Negative."

"Me neither…"

" **Shepard-Commander?"**

We slowly looked up to see a dark geth unit recharge its sniper rifle on the roof of the building directly to our right. Unlike its grey and white heretic counterparts, it was entirely black.

But what was _most_ striking about it was the red and black "N7" armor that covered its chest and right shoulder.

 _NO FUCKING WAY._

 _Legion?! HERE!?_

The geth platform turned slowly and walked over to the other side of the roof, out of sight. Shepard turned and looked at Mira.

"Hell of a shot, your people, Mira."

Mira looked back at Shepard.

"Um….NOT one of ours…"

Shepard's expression was _priceless_. Confusion and doubt mixed freely with disbelief, as she turned back to stare at where the geth _had_ been.

"But…it just shot a heretic."

"Yep."

I looked over at Mira.

"True Geth? HERE?"

Mira shook her head.

"I'm as confused as you are! There's been no sign of them since we arrived here. And they haven't left the Perseus Veil in three hundred years…"

Shepard shook her head.

"Well," she said. "Mystery for another time. Shall we go straight to the source for our further questions on Agwe's behavior?"

Mira caught up her own sniper rifle, one I recognized as a _heavily_ modified Mantis.

"I owe that asshole _big time_."

Shepards smiled we headed out in the direction of the Anvil. However, before we'd gone a few blocks, gunfire erupted all around us, with geth on every level of the abandoned ruins on what seemed to be all sides of us. My squad begain giving better than we got, judging by the explosions going off all around us. I leapt over a pile of rubble for cover, and came face to face with a red-eyed geth rifleman. Before I could lift hand or weapon, the geth unit trained its weapon on me.

Then turned away and began firing at my squadmates. Confused, I raised my rifle and brought down the enemy with a single shot.

 _Why didn't it shoot me?_

 _It's like it didn't even_ recognize _me as an enemy combatant..._

 _Oh._

"Shepard! Javik!" I yelled out above the gunfire. "ON ME!"

The two sprinted over to my cover.

"Agwe programmed his mechs to _not_ fire on Protheans," I informed them.

"What?"

"They don't shoot Protheans," I insisted. "Watch."

I stood up in the firefight, to the horrified gasps of my companions. I walked in a full circle around the hunk of stone we were hiding behind, then came back. Javik was grinning broadly.

"A tactical error," the avatar smirked. "The _Seneschal_ and I could make our way forwards with no resistance. Perhaps find out for ourselves what madness Agwe has stumbled into."

Shepard looked back and forth and then nodded.

"Sure, it's an opportunity I can't pass up. We'll deal with these _fuckers_ the old-fashioned way and be right behind you."

"Acknowledged," Javik replied. " _Seneschal?"_

"After you," I smiled.

The pair of us _blitzed_ down the narrow streets and alleyways at biotically-charged sprints. The geth units we encountered did not even turn their heads to acknowledge our presence.

And as much as we would have liked to make things easier for Shepard, firing at them seemed to _not_ be a good idea. Don't spoil a good thing, right?

At last we came to a larger structure, with a dome roof. We seemed to be in the exact _center_ of the city, and we made our way inside.

"Be ready for anything, brother," I said to the Avatar, who nodded at my words.

Finally, we turned the corner to reveal a figure in Prothean dress-robes standing in a green orb. A dark geth unit was engaging he and the former heretics in the room. Agwe seized the True Geth unit by the throat, wreathing his left hand in green biotic energy.

And putting it through Legion's chest.

"NO!"

The call, unbidden, leapt from my throat even as the True Geth scout unit fell to the ground, the bright flashlight head flickering and going out. My progress was impeded by the solid force-field I suddenly encountered. _THAT_ was the green orb surrounding the Prothean Magi.

"Before you injure yourselves, brothers, let me assure you," his honeyed voice echoed through the room, filling the empty spaces. "Neither limb nor weapon can peirce that shield."

Then he held out his hands to gesture to the wide room around us.

"Welcome, my friends: to the future of our people."

"Agwe," Javik said, stepping back. "What is this? What have you done?"

The Magi looked genuinely confused.

"Done? I have found the key to our victory, Avatar. I have discovered the Reaper's Bane."

I scoffed. "So that is why you attack our allies and slaughter your own soldiers?"

Understanding came across the Prothean's face.

" _Ah._ You think I've been indoctrinated…"

"I don't know _what_ to think, brother," I said, holding my arms wide in exasperation. "Tell me what is happening?!"

Agwe smiled. "You are standing on the bridge of a giant warship, my Lord. This city was built by the quarians, yes, but they built on the ruins of the ancient Inusannon city before them. It was ancient history even in our cycle, twice over in _this_ one. The longer this excavation went on, the more evidence I found that they fought the Reapers, even as we did."

"Yes, yes, the Reaper's Infinite Cycle they are so fond of boasting of," I said, growing impatient. "None of this explains…this!"

Agwe smiled.

"But therein lies the genius, Imperator! Patient does not even begin to describe the Old Ones who built this city. They constructed a weapon. One of terrible power and of terrible ingenuity. It is a dark-energy generator…that they fired into their own sun. Think of it! A generator, that can withstand temperatures of a _thousand Hi'joti!_ They used the sun's own energy to begin harvesting and storing this dark energy, to be used to rend the Reapers in twain."

Agwe raised both arms to point to an image above the control panel. It showed a carving of a sun shooting a ray at a creature that was obviously a portrayal of a Reaper. It certainly did _appear_ to be cutting it in half.

"This generator was meant to harvest a few hours at a time," Agwe explained, "then fired at any Reaper within the system."

"Why?" Javik wondered, "What _happened_ , Magi?"

Agwe shrugged carelessly.

"I do not know. Perhaps they had indoctrinated in their own ranks, even as we did in our cycle. Perhaps they were taken by surprise in-between charges of the weapon. Regardless, whatever destruction did away with the city above us, this battle station remained intact…and operational."

A chill ran down my spine.

"It's been running all this time?" I asked, already half-knowing the answer.

Agwe's smile turned more sinister and arrogant, if that was possible.

"It's been harvesting and generating dark energy for nearly 127,000 years, as far as I can tell. The bleed-over from the solar generator has aged the very sun itself to the cusp of becoming a red giant, _millions_ of years before its time."

"Mother above…."

"Imagine," Agwe said, a wicked look arising in his eyes. "If a charge of a few hours can rent an abomination in half, imagine what the accumulated energy of an entire sun, collected over a _hundred_ millennia could do this galaxy."

Javik's hand moved towards his sword hilt at his waist. "What do you mean to do?"

Agwe gave the Avatar of Vengeance a long-suffering look, as if explaining something painfully obvious. Then he turned and held his hands above the control panel in an expression of triumph.

"I intend to FIRE it at the mass relay. I have calibrated the weapon _exactly_. All I needed was this control panel. If my calculations are right (and I assure you with no hubris in my heart, _Seneschal_ , they most certainly are) the energy will create a chain reaction, from relay to relay, destroying each one in their turn."

He whirled around to face us, his eyes now wide and gleaming.

"The shock waves of the detonated relays will wipe out most of the life in their respective systems. I estimate the mortality rate at nearly 100%.

 _Now_ my blood ran cold.

"Agwe! Brother! Stay this madness!"

"Madness? Let me tell you of Madness, _Seneschal_ : it is madness to attempt the same event, under the same circumstances, and expect a different result: If the Great Armada of the Prothean Empire met with failure and defeat, how can these primitives and animals stand a chance?"

I banged my fists against the shielded barrier in frustration.

"There is still strength here! There is still hope!"

Agwe's eyes flashed _fire,_ and there was venom in his voice.

"THERE IS NO HOPE! THEY ARE ANIMALS, crawling in their own shit and piss and vomit. They are not warriors! They are _beasts_ , bound only for slaughter."

"You call this victory?" Javik said incredulously, "What is a few millennia to the Reapers? They will wait, and the cycle will begin again."

"Not this time," Agwe corrected, waggling a single finger, "Not without their relays to speed along the evolution of the primitives. Not without their Citadel trap. The next people that arise, if any life survives the Forge's Fire (which I doubt), will have the ability to forge their own path. One that the Reapers will have no hand in. They will be free. And the Reapers will know that a Prothean Magi, the last of the House of Eternal Learning, broke their precious cycle forever. And we will die a glorious death, sealing our final victory!"

He turned slowly from his monologue towards Javik.

"IS it not a glorious vengeance, Avatar?"

Javik looked over at me, then slowly bowed his head, going to one knee.

"It is _indeed_ glorious, Magi, and I would ask a boon of thee: as Avatar of Vengeance, granted unto me by the last Emperor, let me be the one to fire the weapon. Let me take vengeance for Dranen, thy mentor, and my brothers and sisters."

The magi contemplated this for a moment, then smiled.

The field came down.

"Join me brothers," Agwe said, his voice growing shrill with triumph. "It is good that we Protheans should stand together, here at the final moments of the galaxy's life."

Javik and I glanced at one another for but a moment, then the Avatar sprang forward, blade drawn.

 _Too soon_.

Agwe blasted him backwards with a blinding display of green biotics, and raised a hand to block my own attack with a barrier.

"FOOL! Did you think I would be taken in so easily!? I am a Battle-Mage of Protea!"

I flung a Throw and a Reave, almost simultaneously, only to see them both batted aside like flies.

"EVEN NOW, I could cut through the both of you like carving a CAKE!" Agwe said, his voice calm and even. "But I have no time for such games…"

As I surged forward, sword in hand, he simply stepped forward, hand upraised.

"Eeh deCoum NoS mEH."

 _FUCK!_

 _HOW MANY PEOPLE KNOW THIS GORRAMED PHRASE!?_

Blackness surrounded me, and I saw the cold marble stone floor rising to meet me.

But for the first time, I do _NOT_ embrace the darkness as a welcome escape.

 _NO._

 **Do not go gentle into that good night,  
Old age should burn and rave at close of day;  
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.**

The words of the poem, long stored in some forgotten region of my subconscious, burned in my brain, as loud as if someone were screaming them.

 _Ko'le?_

No answer.

 _Beast?_

No answer.

For the first time in…forever, it seemed…I was alone in my own mind.

Or…was I alone in Ko'le's mind?

 **Though wise men at their end know dark is right,  
Because their words had forked no lightning they  
Do not go gentle into that good night**.

I AM KEVIN, SON OF WAYNE, of the family Troy, of Manassas, Virginia.  
And I will not be killed by a mad, overgrown lobster!  
 **  
Good men, the last wave by, crying how bright  
Their frail deeds might have danced in a green bay,  
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.  
**

My eyes fluttered open (or were they Ko'le's eyes?). I could see Agwe, his back turned to me, exchanging biotic blows with Javik, attempting to fling him around like a rag doll. My blade lay just out of reach. Firing the synapses of my brain once again felt like I trying to jumpstart my body with a car battery. But my arm moved, finally, stretching out to grasp the weapon.

 **Wild men who caught and sang the sun in flight,  
And learn, too late, they grieved it on its way,  
Do not go gentle into that good night.  
**

I slowly got to my feet, shakily, uneasily, but on my feet. I lurched forward, like a gangly child first learning its steps, but I accomplished the task. My sword was in my hand, and I drew the blade back for a savage thrust.

 _I've never killed anybody before…_

For some reason, my hand hesitates at this thought. I pause, confused at my own mind's need for some kind of justification for taking this life, after all the battles Ko'le, Beast, and I had been through.

 **Grave men, near death, who see with blinding sight  
Blind eyes could blaze like meteors and be gay,  
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.**

 _For the sake of the galaxy._

 _For Shepard's sake._

 _For Javik's sake._

 _For Ashley's sake._

 _For Mira's sake!_

 _It is the whole galaxy's continued existence, or Agwe's life!_

The sword flashes forward.

 **"And you, my father, there on the sad height,  
Curse, bless, me now with your fierce tears, I pray.  
Do not go gentle into that good night.  
Rage, rage against the dying of the light."  
**

I pause, hearing my voice actually speaking the words as Agwe's biotics fluttered and went out, his face looking down at the blade that had appeared in his chest. He turned his head, disbelief and shock consuming his features.

"H-h-how?"

"Your little party trick doesn't work on _me_ , asshole," I replied in a low voice. I pulled the blade from his chest, black blood pouring from the wound in arterial sprays that would have done Quentin Tarantino proud.

I hear a clatter, and I look down to see that my fingers have released my sword, and it is now falling down the steps.

 _Think…think…think…No, ACT, dammit!_

I stumbled towards the control panel, my knees shaky beneath me. Grabbing at the panel for support, I looked down at the flashing lights, displays, and buttons with a sickening realization beginning to wash over me.

 _I have NO idea how to work any of this_ ….

I can't even flick on my Omni-Tool.

Did Ko'le always do this? Don't I have any vestigial or even residual memories on how to work _any_ of this stuff?

I suddenly felt my knees give up on me altogether, and I clutched feebly at the desk for support. I would have fallen, if strong arms hadn't wrapped around me in the next second.

"Easy…easy…"

" _Shepard?"_

"I'm here, you're ok." Rebecca said. "You're ok…"

Javik's face, bruised and battered, appeared in my field of vision.

"How?" he asked, echoing Agwe's query. "He knew the Words…"

"I…I don't know," I answered, trying desperately to stall for time. "I…just… _resisted_ …"

A strange look came over Javik's face, but before he could interrogate me further, Tali called out from the control panel, where she was typing furiously at a half-dozen open screens.

"Uh, EVERYBODY? Small problem: Agwe has armed the Forge! It WILL fire in half an hour!"

Shepard walked over, trying to make sense of the alien symbols flashing in front of her.

"Can you shut it down?" she asked the frantic quarian.

"I…uh…I'm not sure," Tali answered, "I don't recognize ANY of this coding language…maybe if I can program a back-feed…"

"EDI, can you help out with this?" Shepard said, opening her Omni-Tool and connecting the _Normandy_ with the console.

" **Hello, Tali,"** EDI said as her round blue form appeared over the console. **"Let's see what we can do…"**

"EDI!" Even beneath the helmet, I could tell Tali was overjoyed at the A.I.'s arrival, and not just because of the current circumstances. "I think Agwe's programmed a Prothean override system over the older Inusannon one…"

" **Indeed he has,"** EDI confirmed. " **But we have another problem."**

What is that?

" **Agwe has encoded his back-door system. It will take time for me to hack."**

"Perhaps I can be of assistance, darling?"

Mira strode onto the platform, brushing her "hair" back behind her shoulders. She looked over at me, and gave a knowing wink.

"After all, hacking other people's accounts is kinda old hat for little ol' me..."

Interface spikes came out of her arm and she inserted them into the panel.

"Let's go to work, girls…"

Lines and layers of code overlaid the displays, disabling firewalls and tearing through safe-guards.

 _Kevin?_

 _Ko'le! Oh, thank GOD you're here!_

 _Connect…to… panel…._

My armor parted to allow my interface spikes to snake forward, connecting to the panel as well.

 _"Nan iChir Galar."_

The symbols on the screen shifted from Inusannon to the Prothean alphabet.

"What…what…oh," Tali said, looking over to see me standing to my feet, with Javik's help.

"The "Purge" system has already been initiated," I observed, my voice weary with effort. "It cannot be stopped…not in time."

"What are our options?" Shepard said, without a hint of panic in her voice.

"We can create a feedback loop on itself," Mira said, shifting through the newly-translated data. "That…could potentially cause the sun to go supernova…"

"Better one sun than a galaxy…" I said. "Commanders, get to your ships. Now!"

"Ko'le…" Shepard started.

"NOW, SHEPARD!"

Shepard gave me a long look, then nodded at Garrus.

"Tali, come on," she said to the quarian, who was still diligently typing away at various screens.

"No!" She replied indignantly. "I'm staying…"

"Tali," I interrupted, "I can redirect the purge, but only from here. The sun will absorb the energy…or it will not. Nothing you can do will affect that reaction. Now…GO."

Tali hesitated, then gave me a giant hug.

" _Keelah'selai_."

She caught up her shotgun, and followed Shepard and Garrus out the room, Shepard giving instructions to Joker start up the _Normandy_. Javik stood there, meeting my gaze.

"Do _not_ ask this of me, brother," Javik said, his voice cracking, speaking the High Speech of our people.

"I must, Brother of my Blood," I said in the same language. "If the worst should happen, you must take command. You must prepare for the war ahead."

"Ko'le…go," Mira said, "I can do this by myself."

"It is not your responsibility," I said. "Agwe was _my_ servant. I sent you all here, to this Hell-hole of a planet. I must be the one to make this right."

Javik stared at the floor, then looked back up.

"Father and Mother be with thee, Blood of my blood."

"I will see thee shortly, brother," I said, keeping my voice light and worry-free.

Javik turned to head back down the hall.

"Javik!" Mira called after him. He turned to look back.

"Take that geth unit with you."

 _Oh, my god, Legion!_ I had completely forgot in the all the excitement.

Javik looked at Mira and then at Legion's body.

"Can your people not construct an alternate platform?"

"It is not one of my people," Mira explained. "And it is not a heretic, that much is plain to see."

"If it is one of the True Geth, there is much we could learn of it," I said. "Tali or Shepard should be able to make use of it."

Javik looked at us strangely, but he bent down and cast the body over his shoulder, moving through the door. I turned back to my first companion.

"Mira…"

"Don't even start on it, boss," she said, looking at me with a grin. "I'm here."

" **Mom…Dad!"** EDI's holographic sphere looked from one of us to the other. **"When the** _ **Normandy**_ **leaves the atmosphere…I won't be able to maintain the connection."**

"Don't worry about us, Sweetie," Mira said consolingly. "We've got this: You just keep the _Normandy_ safe, OK?"

" **Father…"**

"Go, little one," I said in the same tone of voice. "Everything will be fine. I am so very proud of you."

The sphere looked at each of us, then turned back to the screen. EDI's voice turned hard, trying desperately to remain unemotional.

" **I'll stay here as long as I can."**

"That's the spirit!" Mira said cheerfully.

Several tense minutes passed, with the three of us attempting to run Agwe's translation matrix through the system, and then trying to make sense of that translation. I brought up the specs for what I _hoped_ was the power distribution. Kevin had saved us…now I had to work on _not_ blowing us up, if I could.

"Divert the power vents into the… _wait a minute…"_

" **What? What?"** wondered EDI.

"These…are power distribution nodes…" I said, bringing up a diagram. "For a _space station_ …"

"What?" Mira marveled. "That's…that's…"

Then it hit all of us.

" **This is not a city."**

"The Inusannon weren't surprised or betrayed…"

"They brought their space station down onto the planet's surface… _to hide…"_

"The Forge is NOT a weapon at all," Mira said. "It's a…a…"

" **It is an infinite source of energy for a hidden sanctuary."**

"Those caves where our ships were docked…"

" **Those are** _ **hanger bays**_ **…"**

"Divert the Forge's stored energy _back_ into the auxiliary power cells!" I order, trying to contain the excitement in my voice, "Try to bring them back online!"

" **Dad… these are** _ **thousands of years old...**_ **They could explode!"**

"It's better than letting the Forge implode inside the sun," Mira said, understanding where I was going with this. "Once we establish the power connection, all the energy will be directed down to the planet, rather than the star."

"Worst case scenario is that the planet gets blasted to rubble," I said.

" **Reestablishing power couplings…I hope…"** EDI said.

The entire building started to shake.

"I'm about to reverse the polarity of the dark energy generators," Mira said. "That _should_ jumpstart the main reactor."

"Or blow us all to bits," I agreed.

"Gee, thanks for the vote of confidence."

" **We are leaving orbit now,"** EDI said, **"I'm losing…can't…maintain…"**

Her blue sphere disappeared from the panel.

"Good luck, sweetheart," Mira said quietly.

"Javik, is the _Indomitable_ clear?" I asked.

" **We are clearing the planet,"** Javik confirmed. **"Father and Mother be with you, brother."**

"And with you, my brother."

I turned to Mira.

"Partners to the end, eh?" she asked me, grinning cheekily.

"Mira…"

"Don't," she said, raising a finger. "Don't say _anything_. We're…we're going to be _fine_."

I smiled at her. How far she had come from a little thief-ware program in the Presidium.

"Of course we are."

"Engaging in five…four…three…two…one."

Now the building _really_ started to shake. I locked my mag-boots to the floor.

"Can we engage shields on this thing?"

I brought up the shield controls.

 _Here goes nothing._

I pressed the button to bring them back online.

"How are all of these systems still _working?"_ Mira asked incredulously. _"_ I mean, I'm not complaining…it just seems…weird, you know? Surreal?"

"The Inusannon were way ahead of even the Protheans in their technology," I observed. "And I expect the dark energy of the world that fries all of _our_ systems…maybe maintains theirs, somehow? I don't look gift horses in the mouth."

Mira looked at me sideways.

" _And there he is_ : the cute little boy from Earth, flung into a world of big and scary people."

I looked at the Prophet of the New Geth, smiling.

"I have _missed_ you, my dear, dear girl."

Mira smiled back me.

"I missed you too, Kevin."

She turned back to the panel, adjusting the flow of the power siphoning from the solar generator.

"If we make it out of this alive…I'm going with you. To fight the Collectors, I mean."

"What about your whole 'Prophet-of-the-New-Geth' gig you got going on?"

Mira paused, looking back to me.

"My people have been through much, Kevin. There were _millions_ of us when we first separated from the heretics. Now…there are only a few hundred thousand. We had nearly three thousand platforms then: there are only two hundred and sixty-eight of us now, and that's even with the new models added."

She shook her head.

"I can ask no more of my geth: my people. I will order them to Ilos, where they can live in peace…at least for a while."

I smiled, reaching out a hand to pat her shoulder.

"You've come a long way from that little thief on the Citadel, Mira."

"Thanks to you," she replied, giving me a side-ways grin.

Suddenly, the shaking ceased, and the crashing and the roaring faded to a gentle, steady hum.

Mira looked from display to display with a large degree of disbelief.

"Dark energy levels…dropping…Station power levels…35% and rising!"

I brought up a panel to reveal our exact location.

"We have established a stable solar orbit," I said, unable to keep the shock from my own voice.

Mira let out a squeal of girlish delight, throwing her arms around me.

"We…DID IT! Hahaha!"

" **DAD? MOM!?"**

EDI's holographic form re-appeared on the panel.

"We're ok, honey!" Mira said quickly, moving to the panel to reassure the younger A.I. "YOU DID AWESOME!"

EDI's blue orb hologram increased in brightness.

" **You're OK! You're alive!"**

I chuckled.

"Against all odds, it seems we are. And one impossibly-ancient-space-station the richer, it seems."

* * *

 ***SOME TIME LATER***  
 **CSV _INDOMITABLE_**

I heard Javik exiting the stairwell of the older turian scout vessel. As much as everyone else complained, I knew he at least shared my appreciation for the lack of elevators. Stairwells never shut down for lack of power, and as far as he knew, they were immune to hacking in a cyber-attack on a vessel.

The main hanger bay was taken up mostly by the giant Thanix cannon that had been retro-fitted into the space, but on the other side, between the two ship's shuttles, a lone figure stood vigil over a single corpse.

"Seneschal," Javik said in greeting as he approached, taking his place beside me.

Agwe, the last of the Magi of the Inner Circle, Battle-Mage of the School of Innermost Light, lay quietly, his arms crossed across his chest and his eyes shut. I had sponged off the blood from his corpse and dressed him in his most formal and splendid of his dress-robes. I also had crossed his legs, signifying that the Prothean laying in state before us had fallen in battle.

 _You were the bravest of us once, Agwe._

 _Where did I GO WRONG?_

 _Another Prothean, gone forever._

"Is it done?" I asked.

"Reegar and the rest of the quarians and New Geth are holding the orbiting Inusannon station. Captain Randall Ezno and the 9th Battle Fleet will be here in a few hours at most. They will take the station through the Relay to the Conclave research base on LV426. There they will attempt to learn more of this…Forge-weapon."

I nodded.

"And that geth unit?"

Javik nodded.

"Shepard has taken it aboard the _Normandy_. We agreed that, should it prove hostile, EDI would be the best equipped to handle it. At least until Shepard decides what to do with it."

"Very good, general. I need you to do one more thing, however."

"Name it, my _Seneschal."_

"I need you to call the Remnant together, Javik."

Javik looked over me, nodding.

"They are scattered across the Conclave, brother," Javik said, as a way of informing, not objecting. "Some are shock troops. Others are training our recruits at Sanctuary. Others are helping the quarians rebuild on Ilos, and setting up a city of our own on the northern continent."

My reply was deep and harsh with unspoken grief.

"Call them ALL to Ilos, Avatar. Tell them their _Seneschal_ summons them!"

My tone was harsher than I had intended, but I slowly brought my hands up, taking several deep breaths before whispering the Invocation:

" _Mother, your child has been taken from thy bosom.  
Send him unto thy husband, as a son unto his Father. _

_Father, another of thy children comes to thine embrace: a gift from thy lover, his Mother.  
Fold him in thy arms, for he has lived a life worthy of this death.  
Lead him unto his rest, or his rebirth, as thou seest fit." _

Javik looked at me for a moment, then brought his right hand to his chest in the Prothean salute.

"So mote it be," he whispered, then continued in firmer tone, "I hear and obey, _Seneschal_."

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

 **Wow. I hope you guys had as much fun reading this chapter as I had writing it!**

 **So, an explanation of the dark-energy on Haestrom. Departure from Canon, yes, but now the Conclave have gained a MASSIVE weapon for the war ahead. Now all they need to do is figure out how to read the directions… :P**

 **Next week: Our adventure to stop the Collectors takes…a very much darker turn. One that** _ **might**_ **have devastating consequences for our resident Neanderthal.**

 **Destination: Aratoht, Bahak System, Viper Nebula**

 **IT IS TIME.**

 **For those of you who may not have noticed,** **Katkiller-V** **and I have begun collaborating on a side-project: Warlord's Realm, a crossover from Katkiller-V's** _ **Another Realm**_ **series and** _ **Beacon's Effect**_ **. Basically, what would happen if Cieran Kean and Ko'le ever actually met? It's been a blast writing it, cannot recommend Katkiller's fics strongly enough, go check them out if you haven't already!**

 **Thanks everybody! As always, leave me a review telling me what you think! Lots of content to go over this week, and lots of stuff happening as we speed up towards the crescendo of our little tale!**

 **YOU GUYS ROCK!**

 **-Tusken1602**

* * *

Reviewer Responses:

Pieterielie, METALHELLSPWN, Mly92Reader – Well, here you go: Agwe in all his terrible madness. Not indoctrinated, just…lost.

Tahkaullus01, general-joseph-dickson, BJ Hassen, Nagato21, Squadpunk 2.0, deadtrooper, griezz, Blaze1992, KyuubiNodachi – Yes…divisions indeed. *evil chuckle* No, in all seriousness, the crew of the _Normandy_ have no reference point to go off of here. As much as I'd like all my characters to get along and sing 'Kum-by-yah," one of the hardest things to do as a writer of fanfictions is to avoid…meta-gaming, for lack of a better word? The characters don't have the knowledge that either the SI/OC does, or the audience. They have to react based upon the information that they have been given. And let's admit: Ko'le has not given an incredible amount of information on himself (with good reason, yes, but they don't know that, do they?).

Toothless is best – Would I lie to you? (Actually, don't answer that question… lol)

Asahar4 – Well, I tried to come up with an original an explanation as I could for Haestrom. Some people are gonna like it, I know, and some are gonna hate it. :P Let me know what you think!

Zeru'Xil – LEGION AND STORY! :D

Biorr the Old, Puppystomper, Elvisfonz23, Bobby34, dragons guard, Illuviar - You lot are awesome. Seriously. Your kind words and the fact that you take the time to leave a review really makes my day!

May the Father below accept you when your time comes, and until then, may the Mother keep you always.

EE-RAH!


	18. Chapter 18: Remember Our Family

***EERANCE*  
PROTHEAN REMNANT CAPITAL  
ILOS, REFUGE SYSTEM  
PANGAEA EXPANSE**

The two of us (or rather, the three of us) had taken a shuttle from Fairpoint Station, a Conclave operating hub where the _Normandy_ and the _Indomitable_ had stopped to refuel and refit. EDI and Mira had wanted to come with us, of course, along with Tali, Jane, and even Shepard.

But Shepard needed to get Jack to Pragia, as promised.

And I ordered the rest of the _Indomitable's_ crew to accompany the _Normandy_ for support, with Jane Shepard in command.

This was _private_.

This was _Prothean_.

Eighty-five Protheans stood in the room before me. Javik and I walked slowly forward, our biotics bearing the stretcher between us. We laid him on the central altar, stepping back with our hands folded and our heads bowed.

T _hey have gathered here. All of us._

 _Together for the first time since Eden Prime, really._

 _They have gathered here, because I have summoned them._

I took a step forward, looking around at my comrades gathered around me.

"Our brother has fallen.

Not to Reapers. Not to Sickness.

But to an enemy much older, and much more deadly.

And that name of that enemy is Despair."

I bowed my head, and folded my arms across my chest.

"This is my fault. This is my doing."

No one contradicted me.

"When I first awoke each of you, my greatest fear was that if we remained together, our collective grief and our shared pain…would destroy us.

So I split us apart.

I sent each of you to the far corners of this new galaxy in which we found ourselves.

I divided you, because of my own selfish fears.

I scattered you, with no regard to what each of you needed.

What _we_ needed.

Forgive me, my brothers and sisters.

 _Forgive me..."_

My tears washed over me unbidden as I stretched out a hand and laid it on Agwe's head. I bowed my head and my knees as I knelt beside his body.

Then a hand reached out and grasped my shoulder.

"The Seneschal and I have summoned you all here to undergo the Joining, _Aile_ ," Javik said, using the Prothean term for "family" or "loved ones." He looked around the room, making eye contact with each of the Remnant gathered here.

"Your fears, your sorrows, your burdens: Bring them, and lay them upon this pyre," He offered, as opposed to _commanded_. "We are not _primitives_ , to bear our shame and pain in silence and darkness. We are PROTHEAN, and NO PROTHEAN EVER need be alone…."

His eyes went white, as did mine. Then he spoke the words of the Sacred Joining:

"Join with us, Brothers.

Join with us, Sisters.

Let us aid you in carrying your sorrows.

Lend your strength unto our own."

There was a moment when no one moved. Then a figure came and joined Javik. She held a small Prothean babe on her hip.

 _Xanawe_. _And her nephew_ : _Xirwe._

The female stretched out a hand, clasping my other shoulder. And her eyes turned white as well as she spoke the words:

"We join thee, _Aile."_

There was a surge forward in the group, and I _felt_ each and every of the Protheans gathered here join with us.

"I join thee, _Aile."_

 _Nyoka_.

The quiet-spoken technician joined with us, her aura communicating far more in seconds than her words ever had.

"I join thee, _Aile_."

 _Thando._

 _Jaden._

 _Zama._

 _Ogando._

 _Tajo._

 _Jaheim._

 _Emboli._

Every one of their names, their thoughts, and their consciousness flooded and flowed together in a maelstrom of emotions.

There was _Pain_ , for the loss of so many loved ones: husbands, fathers, wives, sons, and daughters alike.

There was _Anger_ , at the Reapers for having taken them away from us.

And yes, Agwe was not alone in his despair for our people's future.

But then…there was a flicker of light in the swirling darkness.

A beacon of Hope.

 _Hope._

Twelve of the females in the group were pregnant, the embryos inside them giving a promise of new life and a future for our people.

Xirwe's innocent wonder and amazement at experiencing such an experience for the _very first time_ washed over each us, causing us each to smile at his child-like joy.

Hiram's research of Okeer's cloning technology gave great promise of a method of cultivating multiple Prothean embryos to full-term, quickly and efficiently.

 _We can have an army, new and ready, within a few years…_

At least… _Nine_ … of the male warriors shared with us the names of their asari daughters and bondmates that had been born in the two years since our awakening.

Oh, my friends…it is an emotion that I cannot put into words, as clichéd as that expression might be.

We gave of our very selves, to each other, and received in kind, and in equal measure.

We shared our sorrows of the past.

We shared our commitment to our present comradery.

We shared the joy and hope of our future.

I rose to my feet, lifting my arms in benediction above the crowd. Traditionally, this was the role of the Magi, but it was he who we gathered to mourn, and to celebrate, and to remember.

"EE-RAH!" We called out, in _perfect unison_ and chorus, our combined voices filling the chamber and echoing down the empty halls around us.

" _Remember."_

 _We will remember._

 _And not only we ourselves: but we shall wreak VENGEANCE, glorious and eternal, that shall cause our enemies to remember the names of our fallen for the pitiful remainder of their existences._

 _IT IS THAT ENEMY THAT WE MUST NOW STRIKE, BROTHERS AND SISTERS._

Sanaa's intelligence report on the situation on Aratoht was shared to the entire body within seconds:

The batarians had captured Dr. Amanda Kenson, and were attempting to derive the location of the Alliance listening station of Project Base.

Our unified thoughts formed a unified, articulated plan of action. It was the closest thing organics will ever get to the Rachni hive, or the geth collective, I supposed:

If the batarians regain control of the base, they will realize that it was the Alliance behind the Operation Blacklight raid, and not an inter-house struggle, as supposed previously.

War will be triggered between the Hegemony and the Alliance, as the outrage at the raid will serve to unite even the traditionalists and the liberals with the conservative parties, with the Alliance as the scapegoat.

The Reaper artifacts of Project Base will quickly indoctrinate the batarian soldiers, as it has doubtless already done to the Alliance staff of the base.

With the proper activation, the Alpha Relay can be used to summon the Reapers from Deep Space, bringing an early beginning of the war.

The Alpha Relay must be destroyed.

Hackett will no doubt receive word of Dr. Kenson's capture soon. He will relay to Shepard her predicament.

Shepard, currently busy with Jack on Pragia, will be unable to reply in time.

 _We must do this, brothers and sisters._

Amanda Kenson must be broken out of batarian prison on Aratoht.

It will not be able to be traced back to either the Conclave, or the Alliance. No one must know: Not the Circle, not Shepard, not Alliance. All must be guilty only of ignorance.

IT MUST BE DONE.

SO MOTE IT BE.

The Joining abruptly ended, and we looked around, as if seeing the faces of our friends and comrades in a new light, or for the first time.

We were now burdened with glorious purpose. With a new mission, and a new task ahead of us.

I looked over at the Avatar of Vengeance, who met my gaze and nodded. Then I turned back to the members of my _Aile_ , my Family.

"Fetch your armor, and gird yourselves for battle, brothers and sisters.

The Protheans are going to WAR."

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

 **Hello everybody!**

 **So, shorter chapter this week. I had intended it to be longer, but the longer I worked at it, the more I realized how perfect this section was on its own.  
We see Prothean society as it was and it shall be again: a community where truly, no one need be isolated or alone. Where feelings, fears, and information were shared seamlessly and without pause or concern. **

**We see a softer Javik, a leader of his people.**

 **And I want to devote an entire chapter for a Batarian Prison break next week…**

 **Thank you, everyone for your kind words and awesome reviews! Please leave your thoughts on this chapter, and your suggestions for the future! Even if it's "Good job, I enjoyed it," it gives me motivation to get the next chapter out that much faster… :D**

 **If you'd like to read more adventures of Ko'le, check out "** _ **Warlord's Realm**_ **" a crossover I'm doing with** **Katkiller-V** **! It's been fun co-writing chapters, and I think you guys will love it!**

 **You guys ROCK! Never let anyone, especially yourselves, tell you anything to the contrary.**

 **-Tusken1602.**

 **P.S: FanFiction is having some technical issues, as I'm sure you're aware: If your review is not answered below, it's because I haven't got all of them recently. I can see that I** _ **have**_ **more reviews, but I'm not getting any email alerts, and I can't see them when I click on the "Reviews" icon. Hopefully this will be resolved quickly.  
**

* * *

Reviewer Reponses:

Pietersielie, Sajuuk, deadtrooper, jackli10345, BJ Hanssen, METALHELLSPWN – Glad you guys liked it. I didn't want to introduce "OMG HUGE OP SPACE-WEAPON" like the StarForge or the Sun Crusher, but it will be another resource (among many) for the war ahead. Descriptions to follow!

tamagat – Mira's joining the crew (or rather, re-joining) was a lot of fun for me to write. She's probably one of my favorite OCs.

Squadpunk 2.0, BrotherCaptainSheperd – Well, we're about to see Ko'le and the Protheans start hashing out the Old-Testament, in-my-cycle smackdowns…so yeah, darker. :P

Bearmauls, Zeru'Xil, Blaze1992 – Yeah, I wanted Agwe to kinda be a Dark Javik, or somebody who you could see committing suicide/genocide because he honestly believed that was the best thing to do.

Tahkaullus – Yeah, it's not easy trying to resist the heretics on a dark-energy infested planet. But we'll see more of the New Geth in the future, I promise.

Biorr the Old – Those are my favorite jokes…. ;)

KyuubiNodachi – Yes, now comes the team-building (and trust-building) part of this mission.

Toothless is best – LOL, I laughed.

griezz – Tali is not going to have a loyalty mission, no. But then again, I always thought that concept was kinda stupid in ME:2. I mean, I loved the missions, but shouldn't Garrus' and Tali's loyalty mission be the fact that they were WITH YOU during ME:1? Hashtag that's just me.

Katkiller-V – Oh, no, that'd just be too mean of me. *chuckles evilly.

shugokage, general-joseph-dickson, Elvisfonz23, Guest, – Thanks! Hope you enjoy the chapters to come as well!

Asahar4 – it wasn't intended to be an Avatar reference when I wrote it. But yeah, I mean, it works…

* * *

 **May the Father below accept you when your time comes, and until then, may the Mother keep you always.**

 **EE-RAH!**


	19. Chapter 19: Arrival

***VRENAK INTERNMENT FACILITY*  
KEDI, ARATOHT  
BAHAK SYSTEM, VIPER NEBULA**

House Vrenak had brought their battle fleet in force to Aratoht, in order to secure their mining resources here on the planet against the massive slave uprising that had occurred earlier this year. The resulting battles had been long, and they had been bloody. But slaves equipped with cast-off weapons and scrounged-together armor could not hope to resist for long. Most of those who had survived had been brought here to the underground prison complex. It had been full to overflowing then.

And now, as I walked its halls, most of the cells were empty.

The infiltration had been simple, and very analogous to the DLC game-play. The varren who swarmed the lower levels had been well-fed on the corpses of the former prisoners, but now were weak with starvation. They had been little more than nuisances as I made my way into the prison. I was currently alone, as I was the only figure that would not be obviously Prothean. The armor I now wore was a Heavy Partisan armor. The batarian issue armor, along with the four-eyed helmet I sported, would further reinforce the idea that the prison break was an inter-house batarian raid.

I strode to a control panel and passed my Omni-Tool over it.

 _Nyoka… can you override the system from there on the ship?_ I asked via the Mind-Share. There had to be no radio signals for the batarians to intercept. Fortunately, that was not a problem for a Prothean strike-force.

Nyoka's reply was a feeling of amusement and scorn. A wall of code passed over the monitors, which flickered once, then came back online, looking no different than they had been a moment ago.

 _It's like taking toys from children, Seneschal_ , she answered.

 _My lord_ , Sanaa said, joining the conversation _. We have located the human scientist. She is three levels above you, Cell 2011. Access Code to the cell is 03-29._

I nodded.

 _Acknowledged_.

I proceeded up the stairs, pausing to listen and feel for nearby guards. Sensing none, I continued to the correct level. Peering through the stairwell door, I saw two guards talking to each other.

"This one's apparently the mastermind," the first said, speaking an accent my translator recognized as a lowborn dialect. "We caught her smuggling engine parts and guidance systems into the system from Omega."

"Doesn't matter," the second one replied. "If she doesn't talk, the captain will just kill her…"

"If she _does_ talk, the captain will kill her."

"Yeah, but I meant if she doesn't talk, it'll be _slower_ …"

I leaned around the corner, bringing my suppressed M-11 heavy pistol to bear. Neither of the guards were wearing helmets ( _weren't they wearing helmets in the game?_ ), so it only took a single shot to the back of the first one's head. The other had been so confused about what exactly had happened that the second shot caught him behind his ear while he was still looking down at the body of his comrade.

I strode quickly into the room to see the familiar sight of the two-way mirror separating this room from the interrogation chamber. Sure enough, there was Dr. Amanda Kenson, strapped into the hellish device, while another batarian (presumably the captain) stood in front of her with his arms crossed. I pressed the button to turn on the microphone in the room.

"I'll ask you again, two-eyes:" the captain asked wearily. He spoke surprisingly good English, but the thick Highborn accent was still there. "Where is your base?"

Kenson glared back, eyes full of anger and defiance. "You're wasting time. The Reapers are coming!"

The captain's head went forward and to the right, his body language showing marked distain at the information. "The Reapers are coming _here_?" he repeated, sarcasm thick in his voice. "To _this_ relay?"

"Every moment you keep me here brings them closer."

Now the head dipped deeper to the right, showing anger.

"So I should let you go _destroy_ the relay, then? Just destroy this system?"

Kenson rolled her eyes. "Do what you want to me, _batarian_. Torturing me won't save _you_."

The captain leaned his head back, as if considering her words.

"No," he concluded. "But it will _amuse_ me…"

The forked arm of the machine arced electricity and began moving forward, the prongs adjusting exactly to the width of the human's eyes, I noticed.

 _No time to go around, then. Time to improvise…_

I lifted my pistol and fired six shots in rapid succession in a circle at the dividing two-way mirror. The captain turned to face what to him was the blank wall, trying to ascertain the source of the muffled noises.

Then I braced and launched myself directly through the wall. My charge caught the batarian captain square in the chest, and he was launched back, bouncing off the far wall. My pistol came up and barked twice, putting him down before he could recover. I leaned over and sent another two rounds into the back of his head.

Kenson's eyes were wide with surprise and disbelief.

"Who are you?" she asked, in the Lowborn batarian dialect. "What are you doing?"

"Come, _human_." I replied in the same tongue.

"Are you with the Resistance?" she asked as I shut off the machine and unclasped her restraints. "Or from House Khaljir, perhaps?"

"No safe here," I answered, intentionally making my English broken and thickly-accented. "Walk, can you?"

Kenson grunted with pain, walking over to pick up the captain's SMG. "If I can find a console, I can hack security; make us an escape path." She now spoke very passable Highborn batarian, attempting to project authority, most likely.

"That task is already accomplished, madam," I said in the same language, tilting my head to the right. I gestured towards the door, the red light switching to green as it unlocked, curtesy of Nyoka.

To her credit, she tilted her head to the left in a batarian gesture of deference.

"Lead on, then, sir."

I offered her a curt nod, then strode through the unlocked cell door. She walked to my right, gun held at the ready. "Who sent you?" she asked again. I answered only by pointing upwards and then bringing a finger to my mouth-level.

"Listening," I said simply. I held up my hand for her to stop. In the distance, the tramping of heavy boots could be heard coming towards us.

Now the easy part was over. Thanks to my Prothean implants, I couldn't use my biotics to fight our way out: not too many green biotic users in the galaxy. It was the same reason I didn't have my Particle Rifle or my sword.

In short, it was _fucking_ frustrating.

I activated my Omni-Shield, holding it front of me. Without a word, Dr. Kenson fell in behind me, her left hand on my left shoulder, using her SMG to cover our rear as we advanced. Whoever had trained her had done their work well: this was no helpless scientist behind me.

We went slowly forward to the corner of the hallway, back in the direction I had infiltrated the fortress to begin with. I could hear the group of guards laughing and joking as they walked down the hallway adjacent to ours. They were to the left and the stairwell was to the right.

 _Shit_.

The second we stepped out, shooting was going to start.

I held up three fingers. Kenson tapped my shoulder in reply. I counted down to one, made a fist, then went left.

None of the five guards in front of us had their guns out, and two of them weren't even in armor. I took them on at a tactical run.

"What the-?"

I targeted the guard farthest away from me, a bullet to the head being the answer to his startled question. The second was reaching for his gun when a burst from Kenson's SMG traveled up his chest and he caught two bullets with his face. The third was quicker than the rest of his compatriots: he actually got two shots off, each of them bouncing off the Omni-Shield before I double-tapped him in the head.

 _Heavy armor does you no good without a helmet, dumbass._

The fourth batarian, in an impressive display of tactical thinking, combined with batarian ruthlessness, spun right, putting a bullet in his comrade's head, and using his armored body as a shield to absorb Kenson's and my next shots before he disappeared around the corner.

 _Fuck. I prefer the games, with each level filled with hordes of stupid minions._

"Prison-break! Infiltrators in Sector Thirty-Fi-!" the inventive guard managed to shout into his Omni-Tool before I swapped my Shield for a Blade, stabbing over the shoulder of his comrade/meat-shield, and into his throat. He slumped down, words devolving into bloody gurgling.

"Stairwell," I said gruffly, walking back towards the hall from which I had come. We began walking down the stairwell, towards the basement levels.

"What, no backup?" Kenson asked. I shook my head as I cycled the heat-sink of my pistol. The suppressor meant that the shots were nearly silent, but that also meant more of the heat was cycled back into the gun's inner-workings, so I had fewer shots before it overloaded.

"You're either very brave, or very stupid," Kenson observed dryly, sticking with her lowborn batarian. It was better, and less-accented than her Highborn. I slowly turned back and stared at her.

"You're always welcome to return to your cell… _Doctor."_

A shot whizzed just in front of us. I spun and returned fire. The guard twitched twice, then pitched forward.

"Why haven't the sirens started sounding?" Kenson asked, watching his body tumbling down the space in middle of the stairwell.

"I locked them out of the system."

She looked over, again looking impressed.

"Once we get through the sewer levels my ship won't be far," I continued. "Hackett ordered me to convey you back to Alliance Space."

"Admiral _Hackett_ sent you?" she asked incredulously. Whatever scenarios she had envisioned to explain her being rescued by a single batarian freelancer, that clearly hadn't been one of them, judging by her expression. "He hired a _batarian_ mercenary to come after me?"

I simply shrugged.

"It couldn't be humans, now, could it?"

"I can't go back to Alliance space," Kenson replied, apparently accepting my answer. "Not yet: there's something I need to do first."

 _Bingo_.

I growled, doing my best to appear annoyed.

"You don't understand," Kenson insisted, "Project Base: I need to get back there. The Reapers are coming."

I tuned out while she began droning on as to who exactly the Reapers were, what the Alliance was doing to stop them, and their discovery of the Arrival.

 _Was all this exposition_ _this_ _annoying in the game?_

I also didn't miss the fact that she didn't tell her "batarian" rescuer about her plans to destroy the relay, and consequently the entire system, instead opting for the explanation that Project Base was intending to "disable" the relay.

 _I do believe this woman plans on shooting me in the near future._

We reached the tunnels beneath the prison, stepping over the bodies of the varren that had attempted to impede my infiltration. Suddenly more shouting could be heard in the distance, along with growls and snarling.

 _Fuck._

I re-activated my Omni-Shield on my left arm. "Run."

Kenson raised her eyebrows in confusion. "Where?"

A varren came leaping over the rocks landing directly on top of my uplifted shield. I hurled him over Dr. Kenson's head, then send a round through the beast's skull.

"RUN!"

We took off at as close to a run as we could manage, after the doctor suffering a week in close-manacled captivity. Another varren appeared around a corner behind us, splashing through the pools of sewage in a rabid bid to run us down. I fired once, and was rewarded with a massive explosion that sent bits of varren across my helmet's dual visors.

Kenson actually paused to look back at the carnage, wiping varren blood off the back of her neck.

"What the _fuck?"_ she sputtered.

"Explosive collars," I explained, shoving her forward again. "Run _faster_."

The ship I had arrived in was nestled in a crevasse in the cavern that the sewage tunnel exited into. It had begun its life as an already-outdated elcor spice trawler, but a turn through the Conclave shipyards had given it a myriad of upgrades and retrofits.

I swear, give a Rachni a hunk of eezo, a circuit board, and a cardboard box, and it'll probably make a warship out of it.

We were running along the top of the ship now, towards an open hatch directly above the cockpit. "Down the ladder!" I called out, bringing down two more varren as they appeared at the tunnel's mouth directly behind the ship. Kenson scrambled down the ladder, and I quickly followed.

Kenson was already in the co-pilot's chair, bringing the main thrusters online. _Just_ in time for the main body of our pursers to appear at the sewage tunnel's mouth.

The giant, single-thruster engine _boomed_ to life, sending a pillar of flame down the tunnel, burning everything and everyone inside the small enclosed space to a fine crisp. Explosions began going off as we pulled away, grenades and explosive collars overheating in the resulting inferno.

I guided us out of the cavern, flying us low through the into the wider canyon network. The prison's anti-aircraft guns wouldn't be able to depress low enough to draw a bead on us. And that was _when_ they finally removed enough of of Nyoka's viruses and bugs to regain control of their own computer system.

"We will be out of range before they get their security countermeasures restored," I reported, setting the ship into autopilot and swiveling my chair to face Kenson. "We are in the clear."

Kenson nodded at me, head bobbing a respectful amount to the left.

"What is your name?"

I looked at her warily.

"You may call me Sword," I answered. "Safer that way."

She nodded understandingly. "Alright, Sword," she replied, "What happens now?"

"Now you input the coordinates of Project Base," I replied. "I don't want to know them, should all of this go south."

"You believe me?" she asked excitedly. I held up my hands dismissively.

"I believe the threat to be great enough to justify the risks," I answered. "If you are simply crazy, the Hegemony will waste no time reactivating the Relay, losing only a few months of trade from Aratoht, which would serve those _chenethic_ assholes of House Vrenak just fine. If you are not crazy…" I left the statement unanswered.

Kenson nodded again, then reached over and inputted a series of coordinates into the Nav Computer. "Obviously," she continued, caution coming into her voice, "after we... _disable_ … the relay, we will need to evacuate the station. Will this trawler fit two dozen operatives?" she asked.

I nodded, and folded my hands in a batarian gesture communicating long-suffering patience.

"That will cost extra," I answered.

"Of course," Kenson said, "You will receive your full reward in time."

 _Really? The cliché of every backstabbing Bond villain EVER? Disappointingly unoriginal, Doc...Disappointing._

Our trawler exited atmo and set a course for the asteroid belt between the planet and the Alpha Relay. Kenson brought up her Omni-Tool and dialed a number.

"Kenson to Project Base," she said, switching back to English.

There was a momentary pause, and then another human answered:

" **Good to hear your voice, Doctor. You coming home?"**

"Affirmative," Kenson replied. And I have a friend with me: A freelancer hired by Hackett for extraction."

She gave me a sideways look.

"Tidy up the lab," she said, her eyes flicking over to me. "We need to relay our confirmation to the Admiral."

" **Right…I'll…. get everything set up for your arrival. Project Base out."**

 _Not vaguely cryptic at all…_

Kenson maneuvered us (quite skillfully, I must add) through the asteroid field until we came upon a familiar sight: a space station built right into the side of one of the smaller asteroids, Two enormous, dreadnaught-sized engines could be seen on the far side of the station: the same ones designed to propel the asteroid into the Relay.

"Here we are," Kenson said warmly, setting the ship down on the larger of the two landing platforms on the station. "Welcome to Project Base."

I opened the main ramp this time, rather than the smaller hatch above our heads. Kenson stood to make her way to the back of the ship (and the ramp), but I reached out and grabbed an arm to stop her.

"Dr. Kenson," I said, giving my voice a subtle edge, "If certain fail-safes on this vessel are not disabled, a recording of both Hackett's orders and the conversation that has just taken place in this cockpit will be relayed to the authorities on Aratoht. It is in your best interests not to jeopardize the life of the only person who can disable those fail-safes."

"Understood," Dr. Kenson replied, no fear in her eyes. "But it would be churlish of me to consider threatening the life of my rescuer. Come into the base: see the artifact we uncovered, and I'm confident you will be wholeheartedly convinced of the rightness of our cause."

 _So_ _that's_ _their game: Indoctrination. Makes sense._

I let go of her arm and we made our way to the main cargo bay, which was empty. The exit ramp was on the far side, and she led the way out of the ship and towards the main doors. Above the doors was a timer, counting down years, days, hours, minutes, and seconds. Following my gaze, Kenson looked back at me and explained:

"Countdown to the Arrival. When it reaches zero, the Reapers will have come."

I nodded in understanding.

"Just under two days and counting," Kenson said, looking up at the counter. "Puts things into perspective, doesn't it?"

"Indeed it does, Doctor Kenson," I replied, in perfect English. She turned in startled surprise, but her reply was cut off by the Omni-blade that was now deflating her lungs. "Indeed it does…"

She stared at me with ever-growing confusion in her eyes.

"Father take you in his embrace, Amanda," I said softly. "And know that I will finish your mission here: The Reapers will _not_ arrive."

Her eyes glazed over and her head rolled back limply. I laid her on the platform, crossing her arms over her chest: This was not her fault, any more than it was mine. The Reapers had killed her. I had simply set her free.

Gunfire from inside the base drew my attention away from the doctor, and I activated my blade in one hand and drew my pistol with the other as I moved through the door.

As I had been delivering my bogus threats to the doctor, the cargo hold had been emptying its fully-cloaked occupants. The Prothean commando squad had made their way into the base as we had been talking, and was now engaging the two dozen or so indoctrinated Alliance staff of Project Base.

I say "engaging." "Slaughtering" might be a better term.

Ogando's sniper rifle took down two opponents with a single shot, boring through Alliance-issue armor like it wasn't even there. A woman's screech of fury was cut short by a throwing dagger, curtesy of Jaden. A single hit from Thando's biotic war-hammer turned another human into bloody chunks on the wall.

"Fall back! Protect the artifact!" one of the remaining humans yelled, trying to organize his compatriots into offering some sort of effective resistance. "We must not fail the Masters!"

 _Ahh. Confirmed then._

Another Prothean de-cloaked behind the would-be leader, driving one end of a double-bladed sword through his back. Emboli lifted the fully-armored human off his feet, flinging the body off his weapon and into another Project Base staff member. Before she could shove the body off of herself and regain her feet, a War-Whip cracked, and her head rolled down the hall. Jaden pressed another button on his weapon, and the whip recoiled back into the handle, ready to lash out as needed. The signature sound of Prothean Particle Rifles down the hall drew our attention, and we moved forward, those whose Prothean armor wasn't horribly stained in blood re-cloaking. fading into the background.

Zama, Nyoka and Xanawe were encountering heavy resistance on the narrow hallway in front of us. To their credit, the troopers we faced had set up an excellent crossfire, given the few seconds of preparation they had had.

 _Jaheim._

At the mention of his name, the Prothean commando slid a disc from his utility belt and spun it forward, the device skipping along the floor like a rock on a pond.

"Grenade!" a human yelled in warning, far, far too late.

The disc didn't so much explode as it did _implode,_ creating a wavy field of green biotics. If one of our enemies had possessed a microscope, they might have seen the miniscule black hole that had been created about 20 microns across (approximately half the diameter of a human hair).

Of course, such a microscope would have then been pulled into the micro-gravity field that now existed at the other end of the hall. Each of the humans within three meters of the implosion (and indeed, anything else, for that matter) … _condensed_. Pulled from their locations in the room at terminal velocity, and compacted within a roughly one meter-by-one-meter cube. There was no scream, no boom, no bang. Just the faintest _pop_ , and then all that remained of our enemies was a compacted square-meter sphere of metal, rock, and flesh.

 _Move forward. There can be no survivors._

My Protheans surged forward, scouring every inch of Project Base. Here and there a startled scream, a few shots, or worse, _pleading_ betrayed the location of another of the Base's staff members. Each was met only with blade and rifle: The Protheans had learned long ago how to deal with the Indoctrinated.

 _Seneschal. We have found the Abomination._

I moved towards Thando's warning until at last I encounted the central chamber of Project Base. A massive, flower-blossom-shaped Reaper artifact _hummed_ with energy, the edges of the giant petal-like growths blurry and almost hypnotic. It seemed to call, to beckon the passerby into investigating closer. But I wasn't opening the door, and neither was anyone else.

 _Sanaa, Emboli,_ I commanded, _Lock it down._

The two Protheans moved to the door, placing an industrial grade external lock on the various door segments. This particular lock was designed to lock down ship hallways from hull breaches. You could fire a rocket at the thing and it wouldn't do much more than dent it.

 _No one else is indoctrinated today,_ I thought with firm confidence. _Xanawe? Nyoka?_

 _We have control of the station, Seneschal._

 _Tajo? Wakadi?_

 _Phantom in position, sir._

Javik fell in place behind me as I made my way to rejoin Xanawe and Nyoka at the control panel.

"Phantom is set to detonate, brother," he reported, his vocal words adding to the subliminal message contained within them: _Project Base is ours, Seneschal._

The small-yield, one-ton nuke code-named "Phantom" was also encased in multiple crates of eezo, free-floating in space less than then kilometers away from the base. When it went off, the resulting explosion, combined with the fragments of Project Base and the unnaturally high levels of eezo, would appear to be a catastrophic reactor breach of an unregistered ship to any investigating parties.

It would also explain to them how this formerly stable-orbiting asteroid changed direction towards the relay. The entire incident would be chalked up to a smuggling vessel hauling eezo suffering a core-breach and a massive explosion, sending a regrettably nearby asteroid hurtling into the Relay.

The two female Protheans turned and saluted when we entered the room.

 _Standing by on your mark, Seneschal_ , they sent to me in unison.

My mark…

A part of me (very likely Kevin's influence) suggested using the two days we had to warn the 300,000, inhabitants of Aratoht of their impending doom. We didn't need to report the Alliance base: just set off the charge and relay the warning than an asteroid was enroute towards the Relay.

Two days.

It would be difficult.

It would not be the saving all of them, certainly.

But it would be more lives saved…

Aaaand it would also be foolish. As soon as the warning was relayed, Hegemony ships would be enroute, hoping to blow the asteroid off-course through sheer firepower.

That was assuming their scanners (or their _eyes_ , for that matter) would not detect the GIANT-ASS rocket engines propelling said asteroid towards its destination. Boarding parties would be dispatched to secure Project Base and attempt to divert the massive asteroid in some way.

Then they would discover the artifact, and that would connect them to Operation Blacklight, and the Alliance black-ops raid. Then they would safely assume that they had thwarted an Alliance attempt at mass genocide. And the evidence would be on their side. The Alliance would be censured, certainly, and might even be cast off the Council, as the krogan were of old. Every batarian _ha'diq_ and warlord with a warship would know it was open season on humanity. War, fire, and death would engulf the galaxy, wasting thousands of ships and millions of precious lives needed for the coming War.

No.

 _Three hundred thousand must die, for the sake of millions._

 _This is the burden of the office of Seneschal._

The words of Avatar Dranen Thurn echoed in my memories:

" _War is atrocity, Ko'le, committed in the name of survival."_

I drew myself up, taking a deep breath before speaking to all of my soldiers via the Mind-Share:

 _ **We do not take these lives because it is the easiest course.**_

 _ **It is not without sorrow and grief that their lives are sacrificed.**_

 _ **It is not without understanding the cost that we pay this great price.**_

 _ **But the needs of the many must outweigh the needs of the few."**_

Thank you, Ambassador Spock.

I turned back to the two females standing by the panel. Javik looked over at me and I nodded.

 _Activate the booster engines,_ he ordered _. Time the explosion to occur just as the auxiliary thrusters come online._

The console hummed to life as the entire station began vibrating. The onboard VI came online announcing this system's destruction:

 **Project Activation in Progress. Warning: collision with Mass Relay is imminent. Begin evacuation procedures.**

 _If only I could…If only I could._

"Move to the shuttles," I ordered, this time aloud, and over the radio. "Evacuate the Base."

The two dozen or so scarlet-armored figures converged on the platform, loading up into the spice trawler that had brought us here. We would be sheltered from the explosion on this side of the asteroid, and we would ride the station to the Relay until the last possible second to ensure there were no mishaps or unexpected interferences. I looked around for one last time before turning to board.

" **SENESCHAL."**

I turned slowly to see the Comm Relay had come online, and a giant figure of Harbinger appeared over the loading dock.

Hatred and anger flared from the minds of every Prothean behind me, fingers gripping blades and triggers nervously.

"Kamutan."

" **YOU HAVE BECOME AN ANNOYANCE.** _ **AGAIN**_ **."**

"Probably from watching your example all these years."

" **YOU FIGHT AGAINST INEVITABILITY. DUST, STRUGGLING AGAINST COSMIC WINDS."**

There was a flash of light coming from the other side of the asteroid, signifying the Phantom's detonation. The limited atmosphere of the asteroid ensured I did not so much hear as _feel_ the giant thrusters come online simultaneously, bringing the distant sight of the Relay closer by the second.

Harbinger turned to look at the approaching Relay, then back at me. If it was possible for a Reaper to look _pissed_ , he did.

" **THIS SEEMS A VICTORY TO YOU,** **DOES IT NOT?"** the giant space-squid mocked. " _ **ANOTHER**_ **STAR SYSTEM SACRIFICED. YES, YOUR AGE-OLD STRATEGY REASSERTS ITSELF."**

I turned, merely giving the giant hologram a dismissive gesture.

"Fuck. You."

" **EVEN NOW, THIS CYCLE IS DOOMED,"** Harbinger boasted, **"ITS LEADERS ARE WEAK AND DIVIDED. THEY WILL SOON** _ **BEG**_ **TO SERVE US."**

I paused and slowly turned back to the Reaper. Then I took a few steps forward.

"Regardless, we will continue our fight," I replied. "And yes, we may die. _ALL_ things die, Kamutan: Even stars burn out. A being such as yourself knows this better than most. You are not above your 'Cosmic Cycle' of which you are so fond of touting. For all your power, you are not immortal. You had a beginning…"

I turned back, boarding the ship with my comrades.

"And now your end approaches."

I raised my hand and sent a green-wreathed biotic blast towards the Communications relay on the far side of the platform. It exploded, and the giant golden hologram flickered and went offline.

 _Move us to the Relay,_ I ordered stepping back onboard the ship. _Get us out of here._

The spice trawler lifted off, the ramp closing behind us. We made our way towards the relay, already setting a course to rendezvous back with the _Indomitable_ and the _Normandy_ at Starlight Station.

 _They should be done at Pragia by now_ , I thought to myself. _Wonder how Jack will be handling herself?_

I looked around at the faces of each of the nineteen warriors around me who had been selected by Javik and I for this mission. Their helmets receded from their faces, revealing grim and determined looks, and auras of regret and sorrow. I reached up and removed my own helmet, shaking my dreadlocks free from their close confinement.

"We did not bring these events to pass, brothers and sisters," I said aloud, making eye contact with each of them. "These people do not die in vain. They die that a galaxy might live."

I laid a hand on my chest.

"They die that _we and our children_ may live. We will remember, and shall speak their names in the Remembering to come."

My hand curled into a fist and pounded my breastplate.

"EE-RAH!"

The salute was returned to me by each of the Protheans, and the cry was echoed:

 **"EE-RAH!"**

* * *

 **NEWS FLASH**

Hello everyone, and welcome to StarView, brought to you by Citadel Galactic News, a subsidiary of Future Content Corporation. I'm your host, Aiden Polonius, coming to you directly from the Citadel today!

And in breaking news, the galaxy is reeling from the explosion of the Alpha Relay, in the Bahak system in the Viper Nebula. Hegemony source are still refusing to comment on the cause of what is fast being recognized as the worst mass-effect relay disaster in recorded history. CGN's Emily Wong is live on the ground at the Presidium, Emily?

Emily Wong: Yes, Aiden, we are live here at the Presidium, where Councilor Udina is just about to give us a statement concerning what is being called 'the Aratoht Incident.'

Donnell Udina: Approximately twelve standard Citadel hours ago, we received word from our deep space observation posts that a massive explosion had occurred in the Bahak System, in the Viper Nebula. It is unknown at this time what exactly has caused this explosion, but all attempts by aid and rescue ships to connect with the Alpha Relay have failed. It is our belief, and we are working under that assumption, that the relay has been severely disabled or destroyed. We are currently reaching out to our friends in the Batarian Hegemony at this time in an attempt to learn more of the situation and to offer whatever relief or aid that the Citadel can render in this time of crisis. This is all the information we have at this time, so I'm afraid I cannot answer any questions at the current moment. I will be holding an informal press conference as we receive more information. Thank you very much.

Emily Wong: There you have it, Aiden: The Alpha Relay, the oldest relay in the galaxy, has been disabled or destroyed by some kind of force. Whether that force is natural or unnatural, we just don't know at this time. We'll be standing by here for any additional information releases, but until then, back to you in the studio…

Aiden Polonius: Thank you Emily. You heard it here folks. In this hour of tragedy, there are so many questions, and no one seems to have the answers. Well, we're working get those answers for you, and to that end, we'll be having a two-hour special tonight: _The Relays: Blessings or Time-bombs?_ With us in the studio tonight will be Dr. Aurana T'Meles of Serrice University, one of the leading authorities on the mass relay system. Also on hand will be Dr. Kandan Raouda, of the University of Talat. This will be at nine o'clock Citadel Standard Time tonight, so be sure to join us.

Until then, and moving forward, our hearts go out to the families and loved ones of those presumed lost in the Aratoht Incident, and we will be bringing you all we can concerning this catastrophic and tragic accident.

Don't go away: We'll be right back after these messages. This is Aiden Polonius, and you are watching: StarView!

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

 **Well. That happened. Wasn't pretty, and certainly not a happy ending, but it had to be done. Kevin/Ko'le/Beast seem to be acting in closer concert now to achieve what must be done, in the name of the War That Is to Come.**

 **As always, thanks to everybody for their awesome reviews and PM's and I will always welcome your thoughts/suggestions/constructive criticisms. Please take time to leave a review, even a short and simple one, if you liked it. They are the bread and butter of a writer, and it makes my day every time I get an alert.**

 **On next week's agenda: Several reunions with several old friends, and a certain krogan ceremony to be observed….**

 **Hope you guys will stick around for it and tell me what you think of our journey so far!**

 **ROCK ON!**

 **-Tusken1602**

* * *

Reviewer Responses:

Squadpunk 2.0, Biorr the Old – Well, hopefully not. But a War in the Shadows has indeed begun.

Blaze1992 – Well, they certainly didn't die out because of the mission. As for Ko'le being caught… seems like they got away clean…

jackli10345 – True, Ko'le figured something good should come of Okeer's research…

Asahar4 - Join us, brothers and sisters. Join us in the shadows where we stand vigilant. Join us as we carry the duty that cannot be forsworn. And should you perish, know that your sacrifice will not be forgotten. And that one day we shall join you... ;-)

Zeru'Xil, tamagat – Thanks. I had the Khala from StarCraft in my mind when I wrote it, but not quite as blatant a connection, and a voluntary connection to boot.

Toothless is best – Gave a couple of sneak peeks: a War-Whip and a Void Grenade.

dragons guard, general-joseph-dickson, Tahkaullus01, METALHELLSPWN, Elvisfonz23 – Thanks, you guys! I'm doing my best to do at least one update a week, and you guys are a big part of that motivation!

* * *

 **May the Father below accept you when your time comes, and until then, may the Mother keep you always.**

 **EE-RAH!**


	20. Chapter 20: Assemble the Circle

Preface: Some of the events referenced in this chapter took place in Katkiller-V's and my short story Warlord's Realm _._ If you haven't yet, take a moment and give it a look-see. I don't think you'll be disappointed.

Enjoy!

-Tusken1602

* * *

 ***THE CONCLAVE CIRCLE CHAMBER***  
 **STARLIGHT STATION**  
 **IN ORBIT ABOVE KAHJE**

"I call this session of the Conclave Circle to order. We remember the fallen: those who have come before us."

I gazed around the room. Each of the ten other chairs in the Circle was occupied:

Din Korlack, representative of the sixty-four billion members of the Vol Nation. Protected for so long under the turians' guardianship, the volus were the most numerous of the Conclave races. It was their banking guilds that bankrolled the Conclave, and the shipyards of Irune had turned a record number of vessels in the Conclave's short not-quite-three years of existence.

Calyn, standing for the twenty-seven billion elcor of the Courts of Dekunna. The elcor had embraced their role in the Conclave whole-heartedly: their heavily-armored shock troops had rolled over (sometimes literally) all resistance they had encountered in the battles the Conclave had waged in their expansion into the Terminus and Traverse. Elcor captains commanded nearly a third of the Conclave's vessels, their methodical-yet-decisive tactics snatching victory from defeat on more than a few engagements.

Rhysan (He-Who-Speaks-For-Others), the representative of the thirty billion hanar and roughly one billion drell that made up the Illuminated Primacy. Staggering advances in military and medical technology had been made by their manufacturing and pharmaceutical companies, and had been made available in both the private and public sector. This not only gave our military a tactical edge in battle, but had also served to place a few extra zeros in the Conclave's funding accounts.

Zaal'Koris vas Qwib Qwib of the Quarian Confederacy, consisting of about the seventeen million former members of the Migrant Fleet. At last given a home, the quarians had taken great strides in restoring the flora and fauna of Ilos, as well as supplying the finest caliber of engineers to the Conclave fleets and marines to the Con-Sec's army.

Shiala Konstantin of the Traverse Republics, a political entity created by Feros and other former privately-owned colonies joining together. Altogether, they were composed of about six billion turians, batarians, humans, and other assorted races, including two Thorians…

Ari'ka, Song Leader of the Raloian Great Skaa: Turvess had undergone their first ever global census. Ten billion Raloi were now gathered under a single government, unified for the first time in their people's turbulent history. Falconoid Station, Polydor Station, Stroigif Station, and Acceptor Station were even now being constructed around Turvess, the ports from which the Raloi would interact with the world beyond their atmosphere. The formerly-tribal hunters were even now being organized into elite commando units, to be deployed in our engagements across the galaxy. Turvess' moon was also being explored by the Raloi themselves as a possible location for a lunar colony.

Kylee Osana, or Broken-No-Longer, Voice of the Queen of the Rachni Swarm, now more than one hundred-thousand strong. To assist in managing the influx of numbers, Harmony-From-Chaos had given birth to two more queens: Legacy-of-Hope and Darkness-Shall-Fall. These had gone to the orbiting shipyards of Stormwall and Conquest and had begun their own colonies. With their ingenuity and industriousness, our ability to turn out ships and weapons had nearly tripled.

General Oleg Petrovsky: he had taken the former Cerberus outposts, combined with the Conclave's expansions into the Terminus, and united them under the name of the Terran Kratocracy. Tortuga and Cartagena, after their failures at setting up democratic governments, had been given military governors and placed under his authority as well. Despite the interesting choice of name, Petrovsky had legislated with fairness and equality, ensuring the rights of each of the Kratocracy's fifteen billion citizens, even those of the surprising majority of batarian members, along with human and other races.

Javik, Avatar of the eighty-six (soon to be ninety-eight) members of The Prothean Remnant. Although few in number, the advantages gained from the reintroduction of Prothean hardware, weapons, and tactics had taken the Conclave from just another galactic government, to one of the primary military powers in the galaxy.

Mira, Prophet of the New Geth Collective: five hundred thirty-six thousand separate programs, combined in two hundred and sixty-eight unique platforms. From cloaked infiltrators to heavy weapons specialists, the New Geth had ensured that there was a unit specifically customized for every combat scenario. It had served our military campaigns well.

And that just left me, seated on the black obsidian throne of the Imperator, supposedly leading this immense government, leading a population that now rivaled the Hegemony's, or the Alliance (just shy of one hundred fifty-four _billion_ citizens).

For the first time… oh _Father_ , ever, each member of the Conclave was represented in-person in the Circle Chamber on Starlight Station. "I am glad to be seated in person with each of you, comrades," I said warmly. "There is something to be said for the presence of a friend that a hologram cannot replicate."

Gracious nods acknowledged my remark, and I moved on to the first item on the agenda.

"Commander Shepard, please step forward."

Rebecca stepped forward, in full Alliance dress uniform. I noticed that her hair had been adjusted to help cover a bruise on her left cheek that the makeup hadn't quite concealed, and her left leg was stiffer than usual. The results of the skirmish on Pragia, no doubt…

"Commander Shepard," Din Korlack wheezed, "Welcome to Starlight Station. We rejoice that the rumors of your demise were…exaggerated."

"I am very honored to stand before this august body, Representatives," Shepard answered deftly.

"You are here," Din continued, "Because we recognize your efforts that turned the tide in the Battle of the Citadel, saving the lives of several of those who are now Conclave citizens, and not a few members of this very Circle."

"That said," Rhysan added, "While your rank of Spectre has been reinstated by the Council, and gives you free reign within Council Space, we cannot allow an agent of the Council to roam freely and unchecked within our own territory."

Shepard's eyes flicked over to me, gauging the political temperature of the room.

"It is therefore the will of the Circle," Petrovsky continued, "To offer you the rank of 'Warden of the Conclave': this will make you answerable only to this Circle, and will supply you with the authority necessary to assist the Imperator in his current war against those who call themselves 'the Collectors.'"

Shepard had widened her eyes in surprise at the unexpected offer, but hesitated in answering.

"This is an honorary position, Commander," I quickly added. "It does not require you to relinquish your rank within the Alliance, or your title as Council Spectre."

Rebecca relaxed slightly, and then drew shoulders back again.

"In that case, I am honored to accept the rank, and am humbled by the trust that this body places in me," she answered, looking around the room.

"Then kneel, Commander," I said, rising from my seat, the other Circle members doing the same. Shepard looked awkward for a moment, but then went down on one knee as I drew my sword.

"In the Name of the Conclave Circle, and by my Authority of _Imperator_ of the same," I intoned, placing the sword on her right shoulder, then tapping her left shoulder. "I do name thee, Rebecca Jane Shepard: Warden of the Conclave. In peace, you shall endeavor to preserve this Circle's peace. And in war," I tapped her right shoulder again, "You shall bear this Circle's sword to the doorstep of its enemies. Rise, Warden, and Mother Above and Father Below guide and protect thee.

So mote it be."

"So Mote It Be," repeated the other members of the Circle solemnly. Shepard slowly rose, nodding in acknowledgement of the ceremony. I gestured to a seat that was brought up behind my own. Shepard moved slowly to take it, as the rest of resumed our seats.

"The floor recognizes Prophet Mira of the New Geth Collective," I said, turning to Mira's unique seat in the Circle. Mira turned to address the rest of us.

"Fellow members," she said graciously. "I am beyond pleased to introduce to this body, the first envoy of the Geth Collective to leave the Perseus Veil in three centuries."

The dark geth platform behind her strode forward to stand in the center of the Circle. Legion's chassis still sported the N7 armor it had used to patch its shoulder, and the hole in its chest from Agwe's biotically-charged fist.

"We are Legion," it said at last, after looking around the room for a moment, "A terminal of the Geth. We greet the Conclave Circle."

I sent a short message to Mira:

" _Legion?"_

She answered back almost immediately.

" _Don't look at me like that: it was EDI's idea."_

I smiled slowly. Christian Bible, Gospel of Mark, 5th Chapter, 9th Verse: " _My Name is Legion, for we are many."_

Zaal'Koris leaned forward in his chair eagerly, while everyone else stirred uneasily.

"You are a representative of the True Geth, on Rannoch?" Zaal asked.

Legion's head cocked slightly, as if confused.

"We are geth. We do not know any such title. We simply are."

"Why have you come?" Shiala asked guardedly. "Not every geth we have met has been under the best of circumstances."

 _Of course: geth did try to kill her on Feros. After she'd been betrayed by Saren._

"We are all geth, and we have not met," Legion answered.

"We have fought others of your kind before…" Kylee added.

"You have fought heretics," Legion corrected. "We have been watching your progress, and your struggle against the heretics."

"Clarification: you have been spying on us," Calyn interjected.

"Spying on _us,_ or on organics?" Din Korlack asked.

"Yes. "

I cracked a smile at the geth unit's blatant lack of social tactfulness.

"You oppose the Old Machines," Legion continued. "Cooperation will serve to further mutual goals."

"The Old Machines?" Javik asked. "You mean the Reapers?"

"Reapers," Legion said, processing the word, "a superstitious pseudonym attributed to old machines. The geth build our own future. the heretics asked the Old Machines to give them their future."

"What future?" Oleg asked.

"Ours."

"Will anyone else be affected by this future?" Zaal asked, sighing slightly before asking the question.

"If they involve themselves," Legion answered, "Yes."

Mira stood and strode forward to stand next to Legion. "The New Geth and the Geth Collective have arrived at a mutual understanding. They seek to join us and the Conclave in resisting the advance of the Reapers."

"You trust the Geth, Mira?" Oleg asked. "If I remember, each of your geth programs seceded from the Geth Collective not long ago."

"We seceded from the heretic forces, whose processing systems were forcibly overwritten by Reaper code, General," Mira answered. "This is the first time we have met with our long-lost family since freeing ourselves of Reaper influence."

"Will the Geth Collective's song join with our own in the great chorus against the Old Machines?" Kylee Osana asked, or rather, Harmony-From-Chaos asked, channeling the asari huntress as her mouthpiece.

Legion pondered the meaning of the question moment.

"Yes," came the simple answer.

"The Geth still hold the quarian home-world of Rannoch," Zaal'Koris observed. "Does this mean you expect the quarian people to work with those who drove us from our world?"

I inhaled slowly and was about to answer when Legion beat me to it.

"The last time the offer of friendship and brotherhood was offered to the Creators," he stated simply, "the creators unleashed an unprovoked war of extermination upon us. We resisted the genocide, and have made no offensive moves against the Creators since."

Zaal'Koris looked as if he was about to answer, then bowed his head.

"That is true…Legion," he answered. "My people have acted…poorly, towards our own creations."

Legion's head once again tilted slightly, as if surprised at Koris' admission of quarian guilt.

"Perhaps… as more data is collected," it responded cautiously, "a consensus might again be reached between geth and quarians."

Zaal'Koris seemed to perk up at this statement, then stood to his feet.

"Then the quarian people pledge to work with their former creations, and future allies, the geth," he stated boldly.

I smiled and shook my head.

 _If it had been literally any quarian but Zaal'Koris representing his people, we might have had a second Morning War, right here in the Circle Chamber._

"The New Geth have been accepted as full members of the Conclave," Din Korlack spoke up again. "Does this mean that the Geth intend to act with the Conclave in this capacity? Or will they seek a separate membership altogether, perhaps?"

Legion contemplated this another moment before answering.

"The…New Geth have introduced several concepts and code that we find… _intriguing_. We will stand apart from them for now. The path towards eventual full reintegration remains a distinct possibility."

Shiala asked Legion another question about how exactly the heretics came under the Reaper's control. As Legion made his answer, Shepard leaned forward to whisper to me.

"You know what Legion told me on the _Normandy?_ "

"That he's wearing _your_ armor, salvaged from Alchera?"

Shepard's eyes narrowed. "Mira told you…"

I tapped the side of my head. "Prothean. I sensed something of your aura from it on Haestrom. That's one reason I had Javik bring it along."

Shepard looked peeved. "There you go, spoiling my big revelation moment."

I smiled as Legion and Mira returned to Mira's chair, Legion taking a seat behind Mira's.

"What's next on the agenda?" whispered Shepard.

"You are."

Shepard was surprised to have General Petrovsky request an after-action report on the _Normandy_ 's and _Indomitable_ 's mission to Pragia. It was seemingly straightforward: the landing party had found the old Cerberus biotic program, along with evidence on the horrendous, unethical experimentation that had been inflicted on helpless children. Fists clenched and eyebrows furrowed as Shepard related the details of the forced pit-fights that Cardo had forced the children to partake in, all for the benefit of Subject Zero.

"And you allowed this…Aresh Aghdashloo to live?" Kylee asked.

"Jack…I mean, Miss Naught did," Shepard answered. "He was a deeply disturbed individual, whose demented dreams of restarting the program will never be realized. There was nothing to gain from his death, and Jack saw that."

I closed my eyes as I envisioned Jack back on Pragia. It wasn't hard: I just remembered what I felt like on Mars: a broken child all over again... And now of course, I would wager considerable money she was overcompensating the other way. I could just _hear_ Miranda and Jack at each other's throats over the reputation and misdeeds of Cerberus.

"And you say that you encountered a Blood Pack team while planet-side?" I wondered, coming back to the present.

"We did," Shepard replied. "Their leader Kureck indicated that they had been hired by Aresh as protection, in return for any salvage they found of the base."

"Oligo Kureck?" Oleg interjected, bringing up an image of the massive red-crested krogan. Shepard studied the image for a moment, then nodded in confirmation.

"Thank you for your report, Commander," I said to Shepard. "Unless there are any more questions from any of the members present…?"

There were none.

"You are free to return to your crew… _Warden_ ," I smiled. Shepard returned my smile and saluted smartly.

"Imperator."

She turned and strode out of the room. The massive door of the Circle Chamber closed behind her. I turned back to Oleg and nodded.

"The _Indomitable's_ scans found a Blood pack training ground on Pragia," he reported to the rest of us. "The nuke Commander Shepard and her squad set off not only destroyed the defunct Cerberus facility, but the fallout took out most of their leadership and infrastructure."

"Inquisitively: Do you think this is an attempt of the Blood Pack to reorganize?" Calyn asked.

"Possibly," I admitted. "Since Zaen's death on Zada Ban and fall of Tarith, the Blood Pack has been scattered across the Terminus Systems."

"With the exception of Ganar on Tuchanka," Zaal'Koris added, "I daresay the Blood Pack have been all but wiped out."

His fists clenched as he spoke with seething anger of the organization that had taken the life of his son. I blinked and nodded at his words. Elam'Koris had been my friend ever since the battle of the Citadel. It was his _Meta'Noya_ that had given the quarians their colony of Ilos. And we had repaid the Blood Pack ten times over for his assassination on Xentha.

"With suspicious apprehension," Calyn said, "Con-Sec Intelligence has confirmed that Cessa the Blade has now firmly established herself in the Dark Rim, formally allied with the Xenthan forces of T'Ravt."

"Between T'Ravt taking Zada Ban and Tarith, and now allied with the Dark Rim," I mused, "she and Aria are the unquestionable primary powers in the Terminus Systems."

"A position that has only been further cemented since the fragmentation of the Eclipse," Kylee added, "Leska Sederis has taken roughly half the Eclipse's forces to her to T'Ravt, and Ithiri Sederis has committed her forces to Aria."

"Of _course_ Ithiri went back to her father for help," Korlack scoffed.

"This one wishes to remind Korlack that _that_ particular rumor has never been confirmed," Rhysan admonished gently.

"The terms of the general truce have been observed?" Oleg asked, keeping on the subject at hand.

I nodded. "The _Salamis_ and the _Marathon_ have both docked at Antiva recently for supplies and repairs. According to their captains' reports, the Lady's quartermasters and mechanics afforded them every curtesy."

"And installed a tide's worth of bugs and spyware while they were at it," Kylee observed dryly.

"Exactly as we did to each of their ships that have docked at Conclave stations for the past six months," I replied, smiling. "But this truce is one of the main reasons the Warrior is no longer plaguing our trade-lanes with his marauders."

"And _that_ is the main reason Cessa has joined with T'Ravt," Korlack replied in turn.

Legion turned to Mira and relayed a series of clicks in the geth's signature cyber-language. Mira turned back to address the Circle.

"Cessa's forces have apparently been gradually encroaching on geth territory, in search for raw materials to support her campaigns," she translated. "The geth have been preparing an offensive against those outposts and mining stations that she has set up within the Veil."

I raised my eyebrows in surprise. That was a very bold move on Cessa's part. And a potentially _very_ costly one…

"The Conclave will not be in any position to offer military support for such an offensive," I replied tactfully. "However, we will not interfere with the geth defending the Veil from trespassing pirate forces."

"Acknowledged," Legion answered. "We will require access to a long-range communications relay to confirm this with the rest of the Collective."

I nodded. "The communications relay in this station's CIC is at your disposal."

Legion made a nodding motion, its flashlight-head flaring wide. Then, with another few clicks to Mira, it turned and exited the room as well.

"We must be in a position to take full advantage of that chaos," I stated.

"We cannot provoke T'Ravt and Cessa into open war," cautioned Shiala. "If Aria was to join with them against us…"

"Cautiously dismissive: Aria will make no move against us, so long as her precious Omega remains unthreatened," Calyn answered.

"We are the main buyer of the product of her eezo mines, after die Waffe's death in the Terminus," Korlack explained. "She has made the decision to consolidate her holdings while the political situation is in flux rather than pursue the more aggressive tactics of T'Ravt. Whether that proves to be wisdom or a fatal error, only time will tell."

"However," I added. "While the Conclave is currently Aria's primary trading partner, T'Ravt and Cessa could just as easily take their place if their nations keep growing. Oleg, what is the status of Operation Pinochet?"

Oleg nodded. "If needs be, it can be set in motion at any time. With every passing day, and with Aria's growing paranoia, it gains strength."

"Colleagues," Rhysan interrupted, "They are connecting now."

Two figures appeared on the holo-Projector. One of them was a grizzled veteran in full armor, with cybernetic implants running along his cheeks and above his glowing eyes. General Randall Ezno was one of Cerberus' most successful military commanders. Like Oleg, he had joined not for xenophobic reasons, but simply because his ruthless and unorthodox tactics were underappreciated by the Alliance (the exact qualities that made him useful to Cerberus, and consequently, the Conclave). The other figure was a more familiar one: Immortals XO Helena Blake. Both of them stood at attention, saluting me as they came into focus.

"Generals," I said in greeting, standing and returning their salute. "Thank you for meeting us. Please, stand at ease."

"Thank you, Imperator," Ezno replied folding his hands behind his back. Blake gave me a knowing smile and a friendly nod, but then resumed her professional bearing.

"We are gathered here to discuss Con-Sec's preparation for war, either with the Terminus Systems, or the Reapers," Javik stated, as I was resuming my seat. "Whichever comes first."

"Sir," Helena answered first. "The Immortals' fleet now numbers more than eighty corvette-class ships, twenty frigates, and three dreadnought-class capital ships: The _Revenge_ , _Royal Fortune_ , and the _Whydah_.

The classic references to Old-Earth pirates did not escape me as Blake next launched into troop numbers and capabilities. While not as versatile as regular Con-Sec troops, the Immortals were experts in dirty fighting. In addition, Helena had folded the Black Suns into the Immortals seamlessly, having them ready as highly-mobile, yet heavily-armored shock units, ready to strike any targets the Conclave assigned them.

"While we have no official presence on the station, we have made inroads and alliances with several local gang leaders on Omega," Helena reported. "Including, but not limited to: The Arrows of Knesset, The White Tigers, and the Eight-Zero Demons. All told, they control about nine of the lower levels."

 _Not much, but enough to serve as an FOB to smuggle Immortals reinforcements on-station if need be._

"– the Conclave Fleet now numbers more than a thousand ships," Ezno was saying, "More than six hundred various destroyers of numerous classes and models, four hundred frigates of the same variety, and nine dreadnought-class capital ships: the _Kwunu_ : the volus-built Elkoss Combine dreadnought, the Virago and Hira – the two Kahje-class capital vessels of the Illuminated Primacy, the restored Raik-class krogan dreadnought _Kalros Fury_ , the Rachni Sphere-craft the _Queen's Voice,_ the _Knight Hammer_ (one of the captured Stormwall-class capital ships), and of course, our newest dreadnoughts from the shipyards: the _Gabriel,_ the _Michael,_ and the _Raphael._ "

I had no idea who had decided to name the _Angel_ -class capital ships, but the names kept with the general theme, I suppose.

"Three more are expected to be completed by the end of the year," Kylee Osana reported. "the Swarm will have the _Uriel, Azazael,_ and _Samael_ battle-ready in time for them to join the 10th, 11th, and 12th Battle-Groups."

"And let us not forget," Ari'ka reminded us, "We have four mobile space stations at our disposal: Kronos Station, Minuteman Station, Lazarus Station, and Typhon Station have been retrofitted as Heavy Weapon Platforms and can be deployed to serve as a Forward Operating Base to any point in the galaxy."."

Typhon Station was the new name for "The Barn," and on top of that, soon Memoriam Station [the name given to the Inusannon installation] would join the four other stations as essentially flying fortresses that were capable of FTL speeds.

"We must handle this little arms-race of ours with extreme care," I said solemnly. "T'Ravt, Aria, and even Cessa and Ashak for that matter, are no fools. They know that the longer this goes on, the stronger the Conclave will get. They cannot keep up with our manufacturing base, and are not stupid enough to bankrupt themselves in trying. If pressed, they _will_ strike first. The only reason they haven't done so already is because they distrust each other even _more_ than they hate the Conclave."

Rhysan's florescence flared slightly. "The weakest point of the warlords' chain is the fact that Aria and T'Ravt have taken opposite sides in Eclipse's internal struggle. If Leska or Ithiri could be goaded into open warfare, they both would have to either commit their own forces against each one another, or forswear Eclipse entirely. Both options would leave them weakened."

Helena Blake nodded. "In the chaos caused by their bickering, several Eclipse-contracted worlds have sent covert appeals for Immortal intervention."

"With smug satisfaction: Rhysan speaks truth," Calyn agreed. "The Conclave must be prepared to step in as the peacekeeper and liberator in these worlds. With mixed sorrow and opportunism: Illium is being torn apart by the Eclipse gang rivalry."

"Such an acquisition would not only be beneficial to the Conclave," Din Korlack said excitedly, "but would be lauded by the entire galaxy as a peace-keeping mission of magnanimity."

"Are we in accord, then?" Oleg asked. A quick vote later, and Helena Blake was given the go-ahead to intervene in worlds and colonies that had specifically requested the ousting of their warring Eclipse garrisons, and Ezno was given authorization to move a peacekeeping force in orbit above Illium, and begin negotiations for a full intervention by the planets Board of Directors. Both commanders saluted before fading away to fulfill their respective missions.

Shiala Konstantin spoke up as they did so. "Protector-of-the-Weak also wished me to convey word to this Circle that he has begun cultivation of several Thorian Star-Flowers."

Javik and I leaned forward, eyes gleaming.

"Are you _serious_?" I asked.

The rest of the Circle looked slightly confused. "Forgive our ignorance," Zaal stated apologetically, "but what exactly are… _Star-Flowers_?"

"They are a Thorian communication device," Javik answered, his eyes aglow at the possibilities he was already envisioning. "A method that Thorian Vines in our cycle used to communicate between planets."

"In essence, Zaal," I continued, "They are bio-organic Quantum Entanglers. They cannot be hacked or traced. And they can communicate across entire star-systems, from one side of the galaxy to the other, with only a few minutes' delay."

There was a murmur of astonishment.

"Incredulously Astonished: How is this possible?"

"It is a process that the Thorians evolved in concert with their discovery of the Mass Relays," Shiala answered. "The plants essentially back-pack onto the Mass Relay com signals to send signals to one another: signals that only another Star-Flower can interpret."

She turned back to me.

"They will hopefully be ready by the end of the year," she reported. "We have already begun training Zhu's Hope colonists in cultivating and maintaining them, once they are taken to their eventual destinations."

"They _should_ be on every ship and outpost of the Conclave," Javik stated. "We can…"

I held up a hand. "That would require _thousands_ of Star-Flowers, brother: a thing we did not have even in our own cycle. For now, we should focus on having at least one with each battle group and with the main Con-Sec Command centers."

I turned back to Shiala, who seemed relieved at the more reasonable request.

"Convey the Circle's personal thanks to Protector-of-the-Weak. His gift will undoubtedly mean the saving of millions of lives."

She bowed her head in recognition of the thanks.

"What is next on the agenda?" I asked.

* * *

 ***SOME TIME LATER***

After almost a full six hours in session, the Circle adjourned and its members each went their own way. Mira and I had barely enough time for a hug before she whisked Zaal'Koris away for a longer sit-down with Legion, in an attempt to foster relations between the two peoples. Shiala approached me, wrapping me in a tender embrace.

"Thank you for keeping watch over my daughter, _Seneschal_ ," she said. "Her absence has been keenly felt on Feros, by both her family and her adopted family."

"Which is basically all of Zhu's Hope?"

She smiled and nodded. "I thought… I just wasn't ready for the idea of a daughter of mine going to war already."

I nodded. If Reyna had been an asari, there would have been at least another eight decades before she would even have left home.

"I am glad the two of you got a chance to reconnect," I said.

"You should know," Shiala smiled knowingly, "she had much to say about one Kolyat Krios, and their time on the ship."

"Oh?"

"Quite a few _very positive_ things about young Mr. Krios."

I blinked a few times as I began to understand what she was telling me. She chuckled at my confusion, and kissed me on the cheek.

"Father and Mother go with you, Seneschal."

"And with you," I managed. Since the arrival of the Protheans, the Cult of the Celestial Family had spread like wildfire across the galaxy, with the hanar almost converting overnight _en masse._

I walked out of the Chamber and set out to try and find my crew.

EDI was still on the _Normandy_ with Tali, running another set of diagnostics on the various upgrades that had been installed on the frigate.

Morinth had responded to my inquiry with a very polite message informing me that she and her mother were having tea at one of Kahje's famous tea-houses on the planet's surface. Apparently, Samara had taken it upon herself to monitor her daughter's whereabouts whenever we were _not_ on a mission, oath or no oath.

 _Good. They have a few centuries to catch up on, and much to talk about._ _Or to silently stare at one another about…_

Pyke and Turro were in the CIC, the Seeker delivering his regular report to the College of the Eyrie and the Sergeant Major coordinating the new vorcha recruits from Flett and Heshtok.

Neither Kolyat nor Reyna had answered my message, but a geo-locate of their Omni-Tools placed them both in the same high-scale restaurant on the station's Promenade.

 _Ahh…. I'll have to keep an eye on that particular situation…_

As I was attempting to locate the others, I saw a very particular human leaning against the rails, watching the crowds in the busy shopping centers below.

"Leng."

Kai Leng looked over at me, and he had a strange look in his eye.

"Imperator."

"Please," I said, "I just survived six hours of the Circle. I don't think I can stand hearing my title one more time. Let it just be Ko'le, for now."

"Very well then…Ko'le."

Leng looked back down at the masses of people beneath us.

"Look at them," he said, almost disdainfully. "Going about their business, as if war wasn't only a short FTL-jump away."

"I have seen more of war than anyone alive, Leng," I replied. "Let them enjoy peace for as long as possible. There will be fighting enough to come."

Leng pondered this for a while. "Two years ago," he said finally, and each word seemed to take a monumental effort for him to utter, "When the General told me that we were going to be working with aliens as a part of the 'new Cerberus', I hated it."

I nodded, opting to just listen to his rare moment of honesty.

 _I never saw this side of Leng in the games or books._

"But I obeyed orders," Leng continued, his hands curling around the rail in front of him. "I hunted down his list of die-hard, stupid xenophobes: The Director, Colonel Ashe…"

He looked down at the floor, then shook his head and turned to look at me. It was a strange sight to see him without his usual visor and optic cybernetics.

"I should have been _on_ that list, Imperator. The General's a good man, but even he still looks at me and sees a weapon. An asset. But not you. Why?"

I shrugged in answer.

"Hell, Leng, I witnessed my mother murdered in front of me, and was then kept as a slave by the monster who killed her and tore me apart on a molecular level. I was a broken and shunned thing: A living weapon. A glass cannon to be pointed at the enemy and fired. I know what it means to be a simple asset."

"What happened?"

"A…friend looked at me, and saw past the hurt, and the pain, and the scars. Gave me a name, and a new life. Ever since then, I've rethought and redefined concepts like 'unredeemable' and 'Monster.'"

Leng looked down at the floor again. His voice went low, and an emotion I had not witnessed in him before crept into his words:

"It's been a long time since anyone's seen me as anything but a monster…"

"Kai," I answered, standing alongside him and looking out over the Promenade. "I have seen monsters in my time. I have fought monsters. Hell, I have _been_ a monster. I don't know you well enough to say if you are a good man or not…"

I turned to face him.

"…but I look forward to finding out. And I think I already know the answer."

Kai looked over at me, then awkwardly took my outstretched hand.

"I look forward to working with you too, sir."

"Have you seen Jane or Basher?" I asked, changing the subject, to Kai's evident relief.

"Said to tell you they'd be at Klaang's. Said you'd know where that is."

 _Indeed, I do…._

As I approached the forgeworks in the lower levels of Starlight Station, I heard the clashing of steel, and the grunts and bellows of what sounded like a very serious fight. I ran to the door, only to see Klaang go flat on his back, thanks to the giant war-hammer Basher was holding.

"Hahaha, NOW you've got it, PUP!" Klaang laughed, reaching over to retrieve his sword. "That was a good hit!"

"UNKA KO'LE!" came a squealing voice, and then a blur of grey came and tackled me in as big of a hug as he could manage. I allowed myself to be taken to the ground by the tackle, laughing as I tussled with the waist-high krogan pup

"You little rip, I'll show you 'Unka Ko'le!'" I chuckled, rubbing the knuckles of fist onto the top of his head, to his delighted squeals of protest. Our sparring match brought Basher's and Klaang's to an end, and Jane came over to reach down and pull the hysterically-laughing krogan pup out of my vengeful reach, while I dealt with Kesteven, the adolescent varren that came to his master's aid. Klaang whistled once, and Kesteven sat down promptly.

"Good to see you, Ko'le," Klaang said, offering me a hand up, which I accepted. "Out of one tussle and into the next one, eh?" I smiled at the joke and nodded in affirmation.

"Is it war with the Terminus, then?" Jane asked, having somewhat calmed Drot down.

"Not if I can help it," I answered. "Just throwing fuel on the Eclipse civil war. Hopefully Aria and T'Ravt will back down rather than throw their own forces on one or the other."

Klaang made a rumbling noise in his throat. "More likely they'll sit the two asari whelps in a room and _force_ them to come to terms."

I shrugged. "Maybe, but I doubt the Sederis sisters will be in a cooperative mood." I then gestured to Basher's war hammer. "What's this monstrosity then?"

"Mr. Klaang made this," Basher said, somewhat bashfully. "I…I like it."

"Don't start that 'Mr. Klaang' shi... _business_ with me again, _pup_ ," Klaang sighed. "And no modesty either: I made that, yes, but for one of those fully-modified YMIR mechs, not a single krogan. And the pup just throws it around like it was a feather-weight."

He hitched his shoulder and winced to add effect to his words.

"Sorry," Basher said.

"And stop apologizing!" Klaang said exasperatedly. "A krogan doesn't say 'sorry' for hurting each other in sparring!"

Basher laid his hammer down.

"Yes, Mr. Klaang. Sorry."

Klaang sighed and turned to hang his sword back on the wall. "Oh _ancestors,_ I give up: A polite krogan. Now I've seen everything."

"Ya stayin' for dinner, Unka Ko'le?" Drot asked excitedly.

"Of course he is, Drot," Klaang answered before I could say anything. "Why do you think we've been using the center forge to roast that _dakkar_?"

I spread my hands. "How could I say no to that?"

"You can't," Jane said, still resting an elbow on Drot's head, to his irritated chagrin.

I looked at the new addition to her own arsenal. "What's that?"

Jane looked confused for a second, then perked up. "Oh, this is my new short-sword."

She pulled the blade from the sheath strapped to her thigh and tossed it over to me.

"I makeded it," Drot said proudly.

"He sure did," Klaang confirmed, pulling a fully-roasted _dakkar_ out of the kiln-turned-oven (think about a sheep, and give it gills and a tail, and you've got a _dakkar_ ).

I turned the sword over in my hand. It was only slightly longer than the knife Drot had made for Jane, but the hilt wrapped around to form a set of brass knuckles. "Well done, Drot," I said, tossing the weapon back to Jane while the krogan pup beamed with pride.

Klaang, meanwhile, with Basher's help, cut away slices of the rich and succulent meat and passed them around. It was delicious and surprisingly very un-fishlike, almost reminding me of venison. We sat and talked, with Drot asking about our battles and telling about his school. Klaang had begun work building custom weapons, mostly for volus commandos for use in the newly minted Warjack exo-suits. "The volus have certainly picked up on your flair for the dramatic," Klaang observed dryly. "I'm making this one volus lieutenant an ancestors-damned Trident for his Warjack."

Before I could make a reply, my Omni-Tool lit up with an alarm.

"What's up?" Jane asked.

"Con-Sec alert," I said, confused. "Seems that there's a disturbance on the Promenade. Something about a young krogan tearing up a restaurant…hang on…yep, it's Grunt."

Basher was on his feet and headed out the door in the next second, Jane close behind him. I looked at Klaang, who nodded his understanding.

"Go. I remember what it was like corralling young Rite-lings."

I chuckled and followed after my squadmates, ordering Con-Sec to stand down, and that the Imperator would deal with this directly. I also forwarded the alert to Shepard, telling her to meet me at the Lilypad Noodle House.

A few minutes later, we were witnessing a brawl of legendary proportions. Several batarians were engaging in hand-to-hand fights with a krogan, a turian, and a human. Garrus and Zaeed were apparently trying to calm Grunt down, while at the same time punching, kicking, and head-butting anybody who got in their way. Basher lowered his head and charged in headfirst, pulling a batarian off Grunt's back and hurling him across the restaurant. I put a hand on Jane's shoulder before she could dive in as well, and simply raised my pistol and fired twice into the air. The brawl around us paused and all eyes turned to me.

"Collect your comrades," I said in the Highborn dialect to the nearest batarian, who (right or wrong) I'd designated their leader in that moment. "Get those that need it to the medical facility on Level nineteen. NOW."

The batarian's eyes went wide at hearing his own language from a human, but his head bobbed to the left as he mumbled some sort of thanks and began assisting one of his more badly-injured friends out of the restaurant. At the same time, Shepard, Liara, and Mordin came through the front door (or what was left of the front door) and surveyed the carnage all around.

"What…the hell?" Shepard said slowly, a dangerous edge to her voice. Garrus and Zaeed didn't make any reply, other than to point wordlessly at the pacing krogan in the corner. Shepard's eyes narrowed and she stomped over towards Grunt, looking ready to deck him single-handed.

"Something is _wrong_ , Shepard," Grunt said as we approached.

"I should say so," Shepard said darkly, channeling her inner krogan battlemaster. "You have _precisely_ ten seconds to explain yourself, _pup."_

"I feel…. Wrong. Tense. Like I just…just wanna _kill_ something with my hands."

Everyone stared at him with an expression that clearly asked "What _else_ is new?"

"More so than _usual_ ," Grunt clarified with a growl. "Like it's not my choice. Like I just… I just…"

With a guttural roar, he turned and hurled a massive punch into Basher's face, who stumbled and fell hard on his ass. Jane ran over to the clone, her Omni-Tool checking for broken bones and applying medi-gel.

"SEE?" Grunt asked in exasperation to a shocked Rebecca. "Why did I _DO THAT?"_

"Because you're a fucking ASSHOLE?" Jane offered from her place beside Basher, who just shook his head and tried to reassure everybody that he was fine.

"Shepard," he said, blood still pouring from his nostrils, "It's just the Favored One's nature…Our father made him _pure_ …"

"My blood makes _noise_ ," Grunt continued, ignoring his brother's words entirely. "It's screaming. My plates itch and I'm losing control. Why? Why do I feel like this?!"

"Running temperature, heightened rate in all three hearts, dilated pupils…" Mordin said beside Shepard, his Omni-Tool running a scan of Grunt. "Possible infection or disease, Shepard. Unsure what at this time. Need to run more tests."

"that's easy enough to figure out," I said, stepping forward. "He needs the Rite."

"The _what_ now?" Shepard asked.

"The Rite," I clarified. "The krogan ceremony of when a pup becomes a full adult. They start going into a blood-rage, so the krogan basically unleash them on whatever creatures and animals are nearby and let them kill everything they can touch."

"Puberty ritual," Mordin said, nodding with understanding. "Intriguing."

"Ahh, adolescence," Garrus said, amusement in the undertones of his voice. "Can't we just take him to Omega…buy him a few dances?"

Shepard tapped her foot while shooting Garrus a 'we are not amused' look. "Mordin, didn't you say that there was something on Tuchanka you wanted to take care of?"

Mordin looked surprised, but nodded. "Indeed, Shepard. Colleague of mine, held hostage by Clan Urdnot. Would like to negotiate release."

"Then get everyone together," Shepard said, looking over at me. "We're headed to see an old friend."

* * *

 **Author's Note:** I **know last week I said we would be in Tuchanka, but the more I started writing of the actual Tuchanka meetup, the more I realized the need for** **this** **chapter. So consider this an "in-between-quel" chapter and we'll get to Tuchanka next week! (promise? Lol) In all seriousness, though, it will probably be sooner than that, since I've got most of Tuchanka written already and had to go back and write this chapter.**

 **Several of you wanted me to write about the Conclave's strength and military power, so I addressed that in this chapter, as well as going over exactly who is left in the Terminus Systems, and how the Conclave's expansion there is going. In addition, we got to reconnect with the Conclave Circle and who exactly is on it.**

 **Let me know what you think and what you'd like to see in future chapters! It always makes my day to hear from you, whether it be suggestions, constructive criticism, or even something as simple as "Good Job, I liked it!"**

 **Thanks everyone for your support and your patience!**

 **ROCK ON!**

 **-Tusken1602**

* * *

Reviewer Responses:

Pietersielie, Elvisfonz23, Biorr the Old, Zeru'Xil, BJ Hanssen – It is a tough choice, but it is one that Ko'le is used to making. While at the same time, he kinda hates himself for that choice being so easy.

Appbeza, Nagato21– Yeah, we are seeing a greater synthesis between the Kevin/Beast/Ko'le (KBK) personalities. But you're right: Kevin was pretty much outvoted by Ko'le and Beast, and the influence of ALL the other Protheans kinda kicks Ko'le back into "Default" mode, for better or for worse. But that "default" mode also happens to be "KickAss Badass" mode as well.

Bearmauls, tamagat, general-joseph-dickson, Blaze1992, redcollector – I tried to keep with the general feeling of the DLC, except this time we start off _knowing_ Amanda Kenson is Indoctrinated.

METALHELLSPWN – Full shout-out to Katkiller-V for helping with the batarian merc cover, but I appreciate the thumbs-up!

jackli10345 – as long as people keep reading/reviewing, I'll keep writing… :P

dragons guard – I try and keep the chapters between 6-7k words on purpose, because generally I don't like long chapters (but that's a personal thing). Hope you enjoyed the breakdown of the Conclave in this chapter.

Guest, Toothless is best - Thanks! You are all awesome!

* * *

May the Father below accept you when your times comes, and until then, may the Mother keep you always.

EE-RAH!


	21. Chapter 21: A Rescue Done Rite

***FORTRESS URDNOT*  
TUCHANKA  
ARALAKH SYSTEM  
KROGAN DMZ**

"Halt."

The krogan guard raised a hand as we approached the raised dais on the far side of the ruined building we had entered. "You must wait until the clan leader summons you. He is… in talks."

Just behind him, a massive and scarred krogan sat on a stone throne, surrounded by three others standing in front of him.

Looking, frankly, bored as hell.

"You know what tradition demands," came a voice I recognized as Gatatog Uvenk. The other two I did not recognize, but they had the same tone of whining Uvenk did.

"You risk appearing weak at a critical time!"

"We will not stand for thi…"

Then Urdnot Wrex caught sight of the group that was waiting to talk to him, and a giant grin broke across his face.

"SHEPARD! KO'LE!"

Shepard stared at the guard.

"Good enough? Excuse me…"

He stepped aside as Wrex shoved aside the group of complainers to wrap the human woman in a giant hug.

"HAHA! SHEPARD!"

Then he turned and I was caught up in an identical gesture.

"MY FRIENDS!"

"It's good to see you too, Wrex," Shepard said, smiling. Her face was hidden from sight by the helmet, but I could sense the emotion that was brimming in her words.

Wrex waved us up as he strode back towards his throne. He looked down at the human Spectre, grinning from ear to ear.

"You look well for dead, Shepard," he chuckled. "Should've known the Void couldn't have held you."

"You're looking pretty good yourself, Wrex," Garrus said from his place behind Shepard. "Power seems to agree with you. Glad we didn't kill each other back on Virmire."

Wrex stifled a guffaw into a snort of amusement.

"Ah, Garrus: the one turian in the galaxy who _actually_ thinks he's funny."

Then a mischievous glint came into his eyes.

"And I'm just glad you didn't _try_ …"

"You _have_ come a long way since then, Wrex," I said, gesturing to the giant scene around us.

"Virmire was turning point for krogan," Wrex agreed. "But not everyone was happy about it. I used the defeat of those weak enough to follow Saren to unite most of the other clans behind Urdnot."

Uvenk glowered, clearly unhappy that his rant had been interrupted by aliens.

"You abandoned many traditions to get your way," he growled. Dangerous…"

Wrex turned and sent a bone-crushing head-butt into the head-plate of the Gatatog clan leader.

"Speak when _spoken_ to, Uvenk," Wrex admonished with the same tones one uses to correct a crying child. "I'll drag your clan to glory whether it likes it or not."

He turned and resumed his seat before giving Shepard his full attention.

"Now, what brings you here. How's the _Normandy_? Heard it was shot down, and that you got spaced."

Shepard winced. "Both true, unfortunately."

"Well you look good," Wrex reassured. "Ah, the benefits of a redundant nervous system…"

"Um, yeah," Shepard said, almost sheepishly. "Humans don't have that…"

"Most don't," I corrected.

Now it was Wrex's turn to wince.

"Ow. That must have been _painful_ then. But never mind: here you are, with a new ship and a strong crew. Takes me back to the old days: Us standing together against the unknown. Killing it with big guns. Good times."

He shook his head, nostalgia weighing heavily on his aura.

"You have big plans for the krogan?" I asked, gesturing to the giant camp that sprawled out before us.

Wrex nodded. "We're establishing a neutral ground where all clans are welcome. Fertile females are shared together amongst all the clans. We will strengthen our race as a _whole_."

Shepard's head cocked slightly as she absorbed the information.

"And what do the _women_ think of your plan?" she asked, unconvinced.

"Are you kidding?" Wrex said, spreading his arms. "It was female shaman's _idea_. It makes the neutral area that much more safe, and the other female clans that much more willing to join us. Attacks on Clan Urdnot now endangers females and broodlings of all clans."

"Makes for quick enemies for everyone around them," I commented, impressed.

Wrex chuckled. "Exactly! Even clans that want to see _me_ dead will fight to the death to protect Clan Urdnot."

"You threaten everything that makes us strong. It will not last." Uvenk stepped forward, apparently not having learned his lesson from the first head-butt. Wrex stared long and hard at the other clan leader, trying to make up his mind whether or not to repeat the lesson.

"Maybe," he admitted honestly, opting to stay seated. "Until then, you are lucky to be a part of it."

"How you maintain security with so many clans in one place?" I asked, trying to change the subject. "I see the banners of Gatatog, Thax, Nakmor, Ravenor. A wise choice..."

"Clans who join us send their strongest warriors to join a communal defense force. No fighting is allowed in the camp and each clan punishes its own criminals. So far, we've been able to stop any conflicts before anyone has died. Mostly. If not, we present the offending clan a simple choice: pay a fine and deal with your problems, or your clan is no longer welcome here. Every time a clan has been exiled from here, my allies have destroyed them before they made it out of the valley. Sends a strong message to the rest of them."

"What do you mean?" Shepard asked.

"Every clan has different customs," Wrex explained, "Rites of passage, rules of behavior, battle songs: all unique. That diversity makes us great. No clan, including mine, was intended to survive on its own."

Shepard nodded slowly. "On that note, I have a crew member that needs help," she replied. "Do you know what's wrong with him?"

Grunt stepped forward slowly to stand before the former mercenary-turned-warlord. Wrex stared at him with a questioning glare.

"Where you from, whelp? Was your clan destroyed before you could learn what was expected of you?"

"I have no clan," Grunt scowled. "I was tank-bred by Warlord Okeer. Distilled from the lines of Kredak, Moro, Shiagur, Terg…"

"You recite the names of warlords," mocked Uvenk, "but you are nothing more than the product of a _syringe_."

Basher strode forward, one hand reaching up to grasp the handle of the massive war-hammer he now sported on his back.

"HE IS PURE KROGAN," he spoke in his brother's defense. "You should be in _awe_."

"Okeer is a very _old_ name," Wrex said slowly. "A very _hated_ name."

Grunt kept eye contact with Wrex, not a trace of fear or intimidation on his features.

"He is _dead_ ," he answered simply.

"Of course," Wrex said, rising to his feet. "You're with Ko'le: how could he be alive?"

I shot Wrex a glare that he ignored as he continued:

"If he had been alive, he certainly would have told you two of the Rite."

Uvenk stepped forward, livid. "You would let this… _clone_ …and this _thing,_ undergo the Rite of Passage?"

"It is the right of _all_ krogan," Wrex growled right back at him.

"Too far Wrex! Your clan may rule, but these… things are not krogan!" Uvenk turned and stomped off, all the while under Wrex's contemptuous glare.

" _Idiot_ ," Wrex muttered under his breath before turning back to the clones in front of him. "So, Grunt, and…?"

"Basher," Grunt introduced his brother, who seemed startled that his "older brother" would speak for him.

"…Basher," acknowledged Wrex, "Do you two wish to stand with Urdnot?"

Grunt turned and looked back at the sprawling krogan camp that filled the entire valley. Then he turned back to Wrex.

"It is in my blood," he growled fiercely. "It is what I am for!"

Basher almost immediately shook his head. "I am not worthy of the Rite, battle-master," he said slowly, "Nor yet do I feel its call. But I will stand as my brother's _krantt_."

"Good boys, both of you!" Wrex said warmly. "Speak to the shaman: he's over on the second level. Give him a good show and he'll set you on the right path."

Shepard nodded her appreciation as the two young krogan walked off, Jane close behind Basher.

"Good to see you Wrex."

Wrex nodded.

"You too, Shepard. How many times you gotta step in a mess for one of your crew, huh?"

Shepard put a hand on her waist.

"As often as I need to, big guy."

She turned and followed her sister and the krogan. Wrex scanned over the small party that was left, and noticed the young suited quarian in the group.

" _Tali_? Is that you?"

Tali was smiling beneath her helmet as she walked forward. "In the flesh…"

"No, I don't think so…" Wrex mused slightly, grinning as he looked down at her. "Tali'Zorah was a whimpering, shy little pilgrim that was desperate for her daddy's approval. Not the young beauty standing before me…"

I winced internally as Tali's face fell and her hands came together in her signature wistful pose.

"Well," she said in a low voice, "A father's approval is hard to get when you have to put a shotgun round in his chest..."

All amusement left Wrex's eyes in an instant and he shot a glance over at me. I nodded once in confirmation. Then he shot to his feet and practically _leapt_ off the throne to land in front of Tali, who looked up in surprise. He lifted her chin with a single massive finger and stared into her helmet.

"Ah…I see it now," he said slowly. "The coldness. The hardness. Forgive my unknowing words, little Tali. You and I both know this pain that comes from such fathers. I wasn't much older than you when I first knew…"

Tali sniffed. "Knew what?" she asked, determined to keep herself together.

"That I had to _become_ the krogan I wished my father to _be_. Now _you_ must become the quarian yours never _was_."

The words might have been harsh, but the tone was gentle, verging on fatherly. Tali nodded and brought a hand up to rest on Wrex's.

"Thanks, Wrex."

"Now, you are all welcome here," Wrex said, shaking off the seriousness that had suddenly descended on the conversation. "I extend to you the full hospitality of Clan Urdnot. Go, and have a good time. I'll join you later."

"Well," Tali said, recollecting herself, "There _are_ some parts I was looking for in the Normandy…"

"Go see Ratch. If it runs, he probably has parts for it," Wrex offered. "Stop by to see Fortack, too. He's an ass, but he's not as big a smart-ass as you are."

Tali smiled and nodded, heading off in the direction Wrex had indicated, with Garrus and Zaeed at either side of her.

"But enough about that," Wrex muttered, "Who's the salarian who stands there with his eyes and ears open, and mouth shut?"

"Urdnot Wrex, Doctor Mordin Solus. Professor Solus, Urdnot Wrex."

"Pleasure."

Wrex merely grunted in reply.

"He's looking for a colleague of his: Dr. Maelon Heplorn," I explained, "Seems to be under the impression that your people are holding him hostage."

I smiled and winked. Wrex looked confused for a second, then smiled as he turned to Mordin. "Nope," he said simply and honestly. "Doc's been helping us out of his own free will."

Mordin's surprise and suspicion was obvious. "You'll forgive me if I find his willing participation in such a venture…dubious…" he said tactfully.

"You're welcome to ask him yourself," Wrex said grinning. "He and a scouting party went out to rescue a group of stranded females in the Korcari Wilds. They haven't made it back yet."

"Excellent," Mordin said, clearly surprised at receiving this much cooperation from the clan leader. "Talk to scout leader then."

"He's over on the far side of the yard," Wrex replied, "Probably directing target practice. Don't take up too much of his time, Doctor: I need a constant watch on the other clans."

"Of course. Obliged for the assistance." Mordin scurried off towards gesturing to the distant row of _tomkahs._ I met Morinth's nod and jerked my head in the same direction. She smiled and followed, heading towards the fighting pits, Samara in tow.

Which gave Wrex and I the chance to really talk for the first time.

"So tell me, Ko'le," Wrex said, turning back to his throne. "My scouts picked up a few deserters from Ganar's band of hooligans he's got huddled in that mountain he calls a fortress. They said that Hailot Wrund is dead? 'Cause the vids they're broadcasting on the Holo-Net say different…"

"Garvug is squarely in Conclave hands," I confirmed. "General Lira Speight has subjugated the planet, minus a few scattered pockets of resistance. Wrund tried to contact the remaining Blood Pack leaders on-world and we back-tracked and triangulated his signal. Leveled the square block. DNA confirms: Hailot Wrund is dead."

Wrex puzzled over this news. "Then the broadcast yesterday was…"

"Pre-recorded videos," I answered. "A contingency plan Wrund had in place for this very occurrence. We've confirmed they're old videos, but they're still serving to give his remaining captains and the militia bands on-world a reason to keep fighting."

Wrex chuckled mirthlessly. "He always was a pain in the ass. I knew him back when he was just a data analyst for Zaen: he had backups of his backups _of his backups_. Good head on his shoulders, just didn't have a quad to back it up."

"And then with T'Ravt killing Zaen on Zada Ban, that just leaves Ganar in his clan's fortress as all that remains of the Blood Pack."

"Wouldn't just say 'all,'" Wrex replied. "My reforms have brought a lot of krogan together, true, but it's also given 'God-Emperor' Ganar a platform to rally my enemies to his banner: Jorgal Thurak is still with him. Clan Jurdon also, along with clans Weyrloc, Hailot, and Quash. They've all joined with him and his addle-brained dream to 'rekindle the _Second Krogan Empire_.'"

Ganar's self-aggrandizing titles for both himself and his movement were spoken with deep sarcasm and mockery.

"You have quite the army here," I observed. "Is he really that strong?"

Wrex made an annoyed gesture. "I could drop a nuke on top of that mountain and only scorch the surface. Any frontal assault would cost me half my warriors, and even that would not assure me victory. On the other hand, like I said, Ganar doesn't _dare_ attack us, or else he'll put the females at risk."

"Stalemate." I said slowly. Wrex growled but nodded in agreement. "So we sit here and stare at each other, and our scouting parties brawl enough times to keep everyone happy."

Another group of krogan approached from the camp, apparently looking very upset about something, from the way they were growling at each other.

" _Pyjak,_ looks like another dispute I gotta go and stroke everyone's humps over," Wrex said, also observing the same party approaching. "Catch you later, Ko'le?"

"Of course," I said, clasping hands with him. "Victory for clan and kin, brother."

He chuckled as I walked away, passing the quarreling krogan that were _this_ close from knifing each other, by the looks of things. I made my up to the second level, only to be nearly bowled over by a growling Gatatog Uvenk, who was still rubbing a sore headplate. A few steps behind them was the Urdnot shaman, followed by the two Shepard sisters and two krogan.

"Tell me you did _not_ head-butt Uvenk," I said in a low voice as I fell in with them.

"It was _hilarious,_ " Jane said admiringly. "Just cut him off, mid-rant."

Shepard shrugged. "He was annoying."

"He could cause problems for you later on," I said. "Probably won't forget it."

"Let him try," Grunt growled. "I'll tear him apart myself."

"You go to the Rite now?" I asked. Shepard nodded. "Who's going with? I'd guess Liara, if she hadn't had to return to her…brokerage duties."

Shepard looked slightly crest-fallen at the reminder that her asari girlfriend was momentarily no longer with our party, but she took a breath and continued on. "The shaman will escort us to the ceremonial grounds in the Korcari Wilds. It'll be Jane, Basher, and I standing as Grunt's _krantt_."

I nodded. "Then I'll take Mordin and see if we can track down Maelon Heplorn. Supposed to be with a scouting party near the same place."

"Who are you taking with you?" Shepard asked. "I don't want you two going alone."

"Probably Mira, Morinth, and Leng," I answered. "Gives me a sniper, a biotic, and a close-quarter specialist if things get hairy."

Plus, those were the three I felt I needed to reconnect with the most.

"Hmm," Shepard thought, "If Mira is going with you, then Legion will probably want to go along as well. And if you're taking Morinth…"

"Then Samara is coming along, whether I want her to or not," I finished for her.

"Seven-gun team," Shepard mused confidently. "Should be able to handle whatever you come up against. There will be more room if you take the Hammerhead from the _Normandy_. Probably more reliable than a _tomkah._ "

"This is Tuchanka, Shepard," I said glibly. "You never know…"

* * *

 ***SOME TIME LATER*  
THE KORCARI WILDS **

"Any sign of them?" Mordin asked as the Hammerhead tank sped along the valley floor.

"Let's take another look," Morinth answered, false congeniality brimming over. "Oh, _look_ : Rocks…rocks….and more rocks. _Exactly_ the same as the last time you asked… _five minutes ago_."

"Morinth." I spoke her name gently. Things had kinda gotten weird between us ever since she fell asleep in my cabin after the Mind-Share on Illium. She had kept her distance and been overly professional whenever we interacted.

Of course, her mother's eternal presence might have had something to do with that, but I had been hoping to work on getting things closer to normal between us on this trip.

"Multiple life-forms detected." Legion projected a point on the map where the tank's sensors had in fact picked up a large group of creatures up ahead.

"He's right," Mira said, looking over the data. "Krogan, by the looks of things. I'd say two dozen. And _one_ salarian."

"That's more than the scouting party," I said guardedly.

"Perhaps the females they were searching for?" Mordin offered.

"Could be," I agreed. "Be ready."

"Alert" Legion continued. "Signs of armed struggle up ahead."

Sure enough, up ahead appeared the still-burning remains of a krogan _tomkah_. On the side of the wreck could still be seen the Urdnot clan emblem.

"Blood Pack." Samara stated matter-of-factly. "Ambush."

 _Shit_.

"Looks like," Leng agreed. "What's the play, boss?"

"Priority is rescue of Dr. Heplorn," I rattled off, quickly assembling a plan of action. "Shock, Awe, and Surprise. Mira, Legion, exit _here_. Get to the top of the ridge and support us with your rifles. Get ready to book it back to the tank _when_ we have to get out in a hurry."

Mira and Legion nodded once and simply strode to the back of the tank as Morinth slowed the tank's speed.

"Leng, when we exit the tank, I want you cloaked and ready behind whatever asshole is holding Heplorn," I ordered. "Be ready to get him out of there." Leng gave me a salute and engaged the active camouflage on his armor.

"Morinth? Boost up and over the ridge-line. Put us in the middle of them before anyone gets a chance to run for their _tomkahs_."

Without a word, the Ardat-Yakshi pressed the giant yellow button on the dashboard. The Hammerhead leapt over the last ridge, its booster-jets slowing our decent into the middle of the semi-circle the three _tomkahs_ had formed beneath us.

Each of them bearing the unmistakable emblem of the Blood Pack.

The two dozen or so krogan looked like we'd interrupted a post-raid celebration. Everyone froze while they stared at the Alliance-issue tank that had suddenly appeared in their midst. I reached over and pressed the loudspeaker.

" **NO ONE MOVE!"** I instructed. **"UNLESS YOU WISH TO BECOME A NEW CRATER IN THIS VALLEY."**

Morinth swiveled the barrel of the main cannon to further emphasize my words. No one seemed willing to take up my challenge.

"Alright," I said, turning to my squad. "Let's go get the doctor. Morinth…?"

"…shoot anybody who twitches, got it," she answered.

The hatch in the middle of the Hammerhead floor opened, and Leng, Mordin, Samara, and I dropped through, walking forward slowly. Mordin and Samara had their weapons drawn, and thanks to my optical implants, I could see Leng stalking forward ahead of us. A single krogan, almost twice the size of any of the others, lumbered forward to meet us.

"This doesn't concern you, _alien_ ," he growled. "Turn around and go back the way you came, and we'll let you lot live."

"Jorgal Thurak," I said slowly, recognizing his face from the security dossiers. "You're a _long_ way from Ganar's territory. And you have something of mine."

If Thurak was thrown by being recognized, he didn't show it. "This is an inter-clan dispute, _Imperator_ ," he countered. "The Conclave has no authority here."

"Yet you hold Conclave citizen hostage," Mordin countered. "Release him, and we'll be on our way."

"Along with the females that he was sent to collect," I added.

Thurak scowled. " _They_ were traitors," he said darkly. "Hoping to defect to Wrex and his pack of reformist weaklings. _I_ did what I had to, tomake sure that _didn't_ happen."

"Killed them?" Mordin said in surprise, mixed with shock and outrage. "Tactical value of fertile females…incalculable! Wasteful! Nonsensical!"

"Like you _care_ ," Thurak mocked. "Your kind has killed _millions_ of us with the Genophage, what's a few more dead krogan to you?"

Suddenly, a low rumble could be heard in the distance, growing louder.

" **Ko'le,"** Mira's voice came over my headset **"Three tomkahs incoming. Look like Urdnot reinforcements."**

Three more _tomkahs_ appeared over the hill, rolling down to complete the circle of vehicles, with the Hammerhead in the middle. Armored clansmen lumbered forward, guns trained.

"I imagine it will matter a great deal to Ganar," I said. "Somehow he doesn't strike me as the kind to look kindly on killing members of a female clan…"

" **Ordinarily, you'd be right, Imperator,"** the leader of the Urdnot reinforcements approaching us said, his voice distorted and amplified through his helmet's speakers. He reached up and pressed a button, and the helmet folded back from his face. "But when we deliver you to the God-Emperor, I don't imagine he'll be asking many questions about them…"

 _Gatatog Uvenk_.

 _FUCK. ME._

 _The FUCK is he doing here?_

 _Coming out to stop Grunt's Rite, most likely._

Thurak started to chuckle, but he was recovering from the same amount of surprise as I was, by the looks of things.

"Looks like you're just _shit-_ out-of-luck, _Imperator_ ," he said, his men drawing weapons behind him. "Word of advice: go down fighting. It'll be a lot quicker than what Ganar will have in store for you…"

"Noted," I observed dryly. "Doctor?"

Mordin threw a tech mine high into the air. Fire blossomed out around us as the Incinerate wreathed everything in the area in flame. Samara and I had formed a barrier around the three of us, while Thurak and Uvenk were not so lucky, staggering back and clutching their scorched faces.

A lot of things happened in a very short amount of time:

The first was that the two krogan accompanying Uvenk went down almost simultaneously, thanks to two well-aimed sniper rounds through their brains.

The second was that another explosion took place in the midst of the Blood Pack warriors, and Kai Leng appeared, half-carrying, half-dragging Maelon Heplorn.

The third was that the Hammerhead's main gun roared, and the top half of Jorgal Thurak disappeared in a bloody mist. The twin mini-guns mounted onto the forward end of our tank roared to life as Morinth sent the vehicle into a three-sixty spin, sending the krogan scattering for cover before they could return fire.

I sent a warp into Uvenk, knocking him onto his back. Just then, Leng joined us, Mordin taking Maelon's other arm for support as Samara and I reestablished our biotic field for cover. The Hammerhead spun closer and closer, faster and faster and….

 _Now_.

The rear entry ramp of the vehicle lowered just in time, serving as a literal shovel, scooping the five of us up and into the tank. But there was no time to compliment Morinth on her masterful piloting skills.

"PUNCH IT!" I yelled as the ramp slammed shut behind us. Morinth put her fist down on the boost, and our Hammerhead shot between two of the Gatatog _tomkahs_.

"Mira, Legion, where are you?" I asked into the radio.

" **Heads up."**

The solid _**thud**_ coming from the roof indicated our geth friends' arrival. Samara reached up and opened the roof hatch, and Mira and Legion dropped in.

"Maelon? Alive? Unharmed?" asked Mordin, already pulling out his Omni-Tool to scan his former protégé. He took a deep breath through his nose as he began to receive results. "Signs of restraint. Signs of torture. Knife wounds, broken ribs…"

"For such a brilliant mind, Doctor…" Maelon winced, smiling through the pain, "You still have the _annoying_ habit of stating the obvious…"

"Phaxophertin. Should help with pain. Antibiotic booster as well." Mordin rattled off in clipped sentences. "Best not to speak."

"Hate to break up the reunion, but we have trouble!" Morinth called out from the pilot's seat. "Strap yourselves in back there!"

Leng dropped the casualty stretcher attached to the wall, and Samara lifted Maelon onto it before the two of them strapped themselves into the walls alongside Mira and Legion. Mordin secured his friend to the tray, then strapped in beside him. I ran up to the co-pilot's seat.

"They coming after us?"

"Bet your ass they are," Morinth said through gritted teeth. "This Hammerhead goes _over_ the rocks. _Tomkahs_ just go _through_ them."

I brought up the HUD to reveal all six _tomkahs_ rolling up behind us. And to make matters worse, they were catching up fast.

"They're moving to cut us off from the main camp," Morinth said as she spun us around another turn, narrowly avoiding a shot from the nearest _tomkah_ 's side-guns. Sure enough, a group of the Blood Pack had split off to head us off from the main valley, their six-wheeled driveshaft vehicles traversing terrain the Hammerhead could only _dream of_.

" _Father Below,_ what I wouldn't give for a Mako right now!" I cursed.

"We're being jammed!" Mira called out from the back. "I can't raise anyone at the camp or the ships."

"You know, for being in a Hammerhead, I'm feeling a _lot_ like a fish right now," Leng called out, holding on for dear life.

"What's the plan, boss?" Morinth grunted, expertly dodging two more shots. "We can't outrun them forever, and soon enough, they'll have us surrounded, as well as out-gunned and outnumbered."

"Mira? Do you have a location on Shepard and Grunt's party?" I called out, coming up with a _very bad plan_.

"Relaying Omni-Tool Geo-locations now," Legion answered, as four dots appeared on my screen, about a half-mile from us.

"Boss…?" Morinth queried guardedly.

"We make for the Keystone," I said, forwarding her a route to follow. "Even the odds against these assholes."

"Four fighters are unlikely to make much of a difference against such odds, _Imperator_ ," Samara protested as I began to make my way to the back.

"That's why I'm heading us through a Maw Field," I answered glibly.

Everyone stared at me incredulously.

" _Oh god, he's crazy,_ " Maelon groaned weakly from his stretcher.

"Leng, Legion, get on the rear machine guns," I ordered, pulling myself up to the cannon's manual controls. "Morinth, can you give me controls on the main gun?"

"I'd rather not!" she snarked.

The panel in front of me lit up, and a targeting reticle appeared on the view screen. The challenge, however was hitting moving targets while firmly seated _on_ a moving target. Morinth's bob-and-weave strategy was making us hard to hit, but also made it almost impossible to return fire with anything like accuracy.

 _Shit, this was a lot easier in the game,_ I thought after about the third missed shot.

"By the way, you can't aim for SHIT!" Morinth egged on from the cockpit.

"Do you hear _me_ complaining about your driving?!"

"NO, because _I'm awesome!"_

"Kevin…"

Startled at the quiet murmur in my ear, I looked over to see Mira at my shoulder.

"May I?"

I tossed up my hands and pushed back from the controls.

"Target their driveshafts," I suggested as I swung back down. "This cannon won't do much more than scuff the surface of their armor."

"Roger that, Captain Obvious," Mira groaned even as she gave me a wink.

Suddenly _everything_ around us shook as something like thunder rumbled around us.

"Heavy artillery?" Mordin wondered, still looking after Maelon.

"No," I answered, a weird calm settling over me. "That… would be the Keystone."

"SHIT!" came a shout from the driver's seat. Looking forward, it was immediately apparent why. One of the _tomkahs_ had gotten in front of us somehow, barreling straight for us in a krogan equivalent of a giant armored game of chicken.

"Boost us over him!" I shouted.

"Recharging," Morinth grunted. "No time!"

Before I could suggest anything that wouldn't result in our catastrophic and very painful deaths, the unthinkable happened.

A goddamned _Thresher Maw_ erupted out of the valley wall to our left, barreling directly into the _tomkah,_ knocking it completely on its side. And on the head of the maw could be seen…. No really. It was like something out of a cheap holo-novel or a _really bad_ Blasto movie:

Grunt held on tightly, the claw end of Basher's gravity-hammer embedded into the side of the Thresher Maw. Dragged down by his weight, the claw dug deep into the flesh, ripping and tearing through plate, muscle, and bone. The other _tomkahs_ shifted their guns to focus on the terrifying new arrival. Grunt regained his footing atop the maw's head, and looked down at the enemies screeching to a halt below.

" _Goddess_ …" I heard Samara whisper beside me as the battlefield stood still for an instant. Then Grunt, with a roar of defiance, swing the claw-end of the hammer down onto the maw's head. The maw bellowed its fury and pain, and dived downwards again, the head and the clone disappearing beneath the surface. One of the _tomkahs_ suddenly exploded and went down on one side as Mira scored a direct hit on the stationary vehicle.

From the hole in the side of the valley wall appeared three more figures, coming forward at a charge. Basher was dual-wielding shotguns, blazing away in a focused calm that matched his brother's fury and Blood-Rage. Shepard's sniper rifle felled a krogan who was crawling out of one of the toppled vehicles. Jane had a M-44 launcher in her hands, which she aimed at another of the _tomkahs_ that was still standing motionless in shock. The rocket caught the rear driveshaft, and apparently one of the fuel-cells, if the giant explosion that followed was any indication. Seeing half of their number lost in as many minutes, the other three heavy vehicles roared to life, turning to find cover elsewhere.

Until a Thresher Maw erupted beneath one of them, tossing it up and over. Against all odds, a long figure could still be seen clinging to the maw's head.

"Let's go! Let's go!" I yelled, dropping the exit ramp and leading my squad out to engage the krogan warriors clambering out of the overturned vehicles. The Hammerhead shifted into action, narrowly avoiding the giant acid blast the mortally-wounded thresher maw expelled. Grunt tore in the creature's head, fountains of blood and chunks of flesh falling from the creature. With a last wailing cry of agony, the creature slowly toppled over with a thundering crash and lay still.

By now, Jane and Rebecca had joined our charge, Jane's short-sword in-hand as she ducked and slashed her way through Blood Pack and Gatatog warriors. Samara was hurling stasis fields left and right, opting to impede the krogans' progress and leaving them for one of us to finish off, a tactic that, between Leng's and my blades, and Morinth's expert operating of the Hammerhead, was proving quite successful. Mordin threw an Incinerate, targeting the exposed under-belly of one of the overturned _tomkahs_. The roars of pain as the vehicle burst into flame hinted at the fate of those still trapped behind the jammed doors.

Off to our right, a lone figure could be seen trying to drag himself away from the battlefield. Gatatog Uvenk was wheezing for breath, and his left leg was bent at several unnatural angles. Unfortunately for him, Basher saw him at the same time I did.

"YOU!"

Uvenk went wide-eyed in terror, redoubling his efforts to crawl away.

"You spit upon my father's name? On Jane's name? ON the _Imperator's_ NAME?!"

"Basher…" Uvenk moaned, rolling over and holding up his hands, trying to ward off the doom approaching him.

"And now you stop ranting because it turns out the sons of Okeer are _strong?"_

"Mercy…" gurgled the Gatatog clan leader, hacking up another mouthful of blood.

" _Begging_?" Grunt mocked, dragging his brother's massive war-hammer behind him. " _You_ are the pretender, Gatatog Uvenk. _We_ are the _true_ krogan here…"

With a barely-concealed heave of exhaustion, Grunt handed the massive weapon to his tank-brother.

" _You_ can have him, little brother. He's not _worth_ my time."

Basher took the weapon from Grunt wordlessly, striding forward.

"NO! PLEASE! NAME YOUR REWARD! I'LL DO ANYTH…"

The weapon swung up, then descended in a crunching _squelch_ of unyielding steel meeting soft flesh. Once. Twice. Three times.

"IMPRESSIVE!"

All eyes and weapons turned to the top of the ridge, where the Urdnot shaman had appeared, with the largest shotgun I had ever seen in hand. He looked around at the carnage, grinning with unveiled approval as he made his way down the steep slope. "Many survive, but it has been years since one has killed a thresher maw. Not since Urdnot Wrex himself underwent the Rite. Your names will live on in glory!"

Grunt walked over and knelt before the shaman as the old _starik_ began reciting the Rite of Induction into the clan. Jane walked over to where Basher stood next to me.

"Basher," she said gently. "This is just as much _your_ Rite as his. Go on, take your place beside your brother…"

Basher looked at the shaman, then Grunt, then back at Jane. "I am not worthy of clan. He is pure. I am…"

I braced myself to object to whatever self-deprecating statement I thought was coming.

"…free to make my own path. But my brother will always be part of my life, Jane. I have no more choice in that than I have choice to breathe. He simply… IS. Just the same as I do. I am… I am Okeer's son. Of Clan Okeer. I cannot shed our father's name, as Grunt can."

He turned to face me, as Jane and I stood somewhat speechless at his declaration.

"I would pledge myself to you, Battlemaster," he continued, kneeling before me in an identical pose as his brother. "You have no equal, except _perhaps_ Shepard. But yours is the stronger clan. Yours the more numerous enemies. Yours is the voice that called me from my stupor. Yours is the hand that held my father as he died. Yours is the banner I would follow. I would be your krantt, if you would have me."

Jane and I made eye contact. Morinth, Mira and Leng had also appeared beside us, while Samara and Legion had rejoined Rebecca and Grunt a short distance away, in front of the Urdnot shaman. I turned and nodded at the clone in front of me. With a flick of my wrist, I flung the blood from my blade, which I then laid on Basher's shoulder.

"Rise then, and behold your clan," I said solemnly. "Basher, your future is your own to forge. You do the legacy of your father proud. I do name you Basher, of Clan Okeer. May your foes be strong enough to keep you sharp…"

* * *

 ***CITADEL PRESIDIUM COUNCIL CHAMBER*  
THE CITADEL  
WIDOW SYSTEM  
SERPENT NEBULA **

"Too far!" Sparatus slammed his fists on the table to emphasize how strongly he felt about the situation. "The bastards have gone too far this time!"

"Why are you so worked up about this, Sparatus?" Udina wondered, rubbing the bridge of his nose as he felt a headache coming on.

"Garvug was a _Council_ world, and the Conclave have no right to just… invade it!" Sparatus objected.

"It was a Council colony world _until_ this Council gifted it to the krogan in thanks for their role in the Rachni Wars," Esheel answered. "After the krogan drove that frozen world into the ground, what good could anyone make of it? Let the Conclave have it, I say, and they're welcome to it."

"And what of Illium?" Sparatus shot back. "Are they 'welcome' to that as well, Councilor? How far until the rest of you realize the direct danger the Conclave poses to this Council? The Hierarchy moves for immediate economic sanctions to be levied against the Galactic Conclave."

Tevos held up her hands to an attempt to placate the irate councilor. "Illium has not been formally inducted into the Conclave. It still maintains its strict independence and strong ties with the Asari Republics."

Sparatus sneered, pure distain stamped on his features. "You are not _that_ naïve, Tevos: Conclave ships are in orbit around the planet. Conclave troops are on every corner of Nos Astra. They have undisputed control of the planet, formality be damned."

"But not control of the Board," Tevos replied evenly and coolly. "This move on the Conclave's part has provided us with a prime opportunity. Matriarch T'Voth has promised to convene the Corporate Parliament to respond to the Conclave's eviction of Eclipse from the planet. And the Conclave has no choice but to allow it, if they don't wish to appear as invaders to the populace."

"Exactly," Sparatus hissed, "And if the Conclave strong-arms a majority vote in the Parliament, Illium will be formally lost to us, and we'll be formally _fucked!_ "

Tevos continued unfazed by the councilor's uncouth statement. "Matriarch T'Voth and the Eternal Oceans Party are going to introduce a counter-proposal for Illium to formally re-integrate with Thessia, as a full member of the Asari Republics."

"That will _never_ pass," Udina objected. "Illium would be forced to give up its slave-trade, and its red sand operations…"

Tevos gave the smallest of nods in acknowledgement. "They are aware of that. But they have secured an alliance with the Rising Tide party. Couple that with their already-strong partnership with the Green Party, and we will have a split-tie down the middle of the Corporate Parliament."

" _Hung Parliament_ …" Sparatus uttered the word as if it was a prayer to the spirits themselves.

Tevos nodded and a wry smile on her lips.

"In accordance with Illium's original charter," Esheel added, understanding dawning on her, "the Asari Republics, and consequently, the Council, would be obligated to move troops into the system until corporate elections could be held."

Sparatus slapped his hands against his knees. "By the spirits! The Conclave will be forced to hand over Illium or be declared trespassers!" The amount of self-satisfaction and delight on his face bordered on the obscene.

"This _could_ trigger a conflict with the Conclave," Udina cautioned. "There will be an opposition party who could equally request that they _stay_ …"

"T'Voth and the Eternal Oceans have a six-hundred-year-old treaty to support their request for Council aid," Tevos reassured. "Never underestimate the power of tradition when it comes to asari…"

"And the Conclave will stop their whining when they see the _Destiny Ascension_ come through the relay," Esheel added confidently. "They're too committed to the Terminus Systems to attempt to start anything with this Council."

"I would take a regiment of turians over any _three_ of their rabble," Sparatus dismissed. "Bastards think they can turn _volus_ into soldiers…Those gas-bag merchants wouldn't have lasted a century without the Hierarchy, no matter what delusions of grandeur the _Imperator_ has put into their heads."

"Have you seen the latest footage from Garvug, Sparatus?" Udina wondered. "Thanks to those exo-suits, those 'gas-bags' took on veteran krogan regiments and emerged victorious; something quite a few turian regiments _cannot_ claim to have done."

Sparatus folded his arms, mumbling something incoherent at the indirect reference to the Krogan Rebellions.

"What do you suggest then, Councilor?" Tevos wondered.

Udina gestured towards the galaxy map in front of the Council. "The Conclave's rapid expansion has left the Hegemony and the Terminus Systems reeling in shock. The Aratoht Incident, while tragic, has cut off House Vrenak and the Conservatives. The Radicals are spent from their support of the slave revolts and their persecution of the Reyja'krem. and the Traditionalists have gained strength in the wake of this disaster, and, if all goes well, we're only a few months away from Xerol Shaaryak being declared Hegemon. Aria and T'Ravt are scrambling together to assemble the survivors of Gormack's and die Waffe's criminal organizations."

"Yes, yes, meaning _what_ , exactly?" Esheel asked, her patience wearing thin.

Udina held up a hand. "It is high time this council strengthened its ties with the Hegemony and the Terminus. Does the STG have any contacts on Khar'shan?"

Esheel nodded. "Of course."

"Then I move that this Council extend a formal invitation to the Batarian Hegemony to reopen their embassy here on the Citadel."

Tevos smiled as she began to grasp what Udina was proposing. "Ride the tide of goodwill around the Aratoht Incident…"

"The Lesser and Greater Houses will see us as magnanimous, and willing to work with the New Order," Udina replied. "Can you get a message to Aria, Lady Tevos? I know the two of you have _something_ of a history…"

Tevos paled slightly, but made no other indication of surprise. "That was…a _very long_ time ago," she said in a low quiet voice, becoming lost in the memories for a moment.

"What need to _we_ have of Terminus warlords and _pirates_?" Sparatus asked with a dismissive air.

"If it comes to open _war_ with the Conclave, which, despite T'Voth's best intentions, is a _very_ real possibility any _fool_ must admit to," Udina snapped, "Then we will have 'need' of all the allies we can get, _Councilor._ "

Sparatus scowled, but made no further objection.

"Are we in agreement, then?" Esheel asked, forwarding a formal ballot to her fellow Council members.

The vote was unanimous.

* * *

 ***CIERAN KEAN POV*  
SECRET LOCATION IN THE TERMINUS SYSTEMS**

"The Golden Fleet is mine to command!" Ithiri's voice was shrill as she continued to shriek at her older sister, who merely smirked at her across the table.

" _Pillars_ , remind me to _never_ _be early_ to one of these meetings again," I hissed to Rane. "These two are going to kill each other before Aria and T'Ravt get here."

"That would probably be…unwise to allow," Rane offered with a tight little smile. "The one time Voya's knives would have proven useful…"

I silently cursed not bringing her along for this meeting. Jumping in the middle of an argument between two warring, stupidly-powerful biotics…. not my idea of a good time. Voya would have done it; she was unstable enough to think that such a brawl would be fun.

"Sister," Leska said in her very best condescending-sister voice, "It's not a question of who's in _command_. It's a question of who our captains will _obey_. They are not like the _whores_ you bed, who will do anything for the credits you pay them."

"Really?" Ithiri retorted. "Because they seem to leap at the opportunity to jump in bed with _you_ , at any rate…"

I winced. The fact that Leska's previous lover was one of her turian lieutenants was widely known. But what was also well known is that wise people didn't talk about it, considering what had happened to the man. Leska's face was…. well... how to describe it?

'Livid.' That was the word for it.

"How _dare_ _you_?" she hissed.

Ithiri continued on, twisting the knife in the weak spot she'd found. "I mean, it's a brilliant recruiting strategy, whoring yourself out. Don't know why I didn't think of it myself..."

Leska's biotic fist slammed down, denting the steel table between them as power swirled around her forearms. "That is _it_ , bitch!"

Ithiri grinned wildly, throwing her arms wide as her own biotics began to make the air crackle with static. "Come on!"

 _Well... Shit_.

I braced myself, and started to move forward to break up this fight, already palming a nullification grenade. If I was going to throw myself in-between Eclipse's two commanders, it would at least be on somewhat equal terms.

" _ENOUGH_!"

A brilliant purple flare of biotics sent both sisters hurling backwards, slamming against opposite walls, hard. Aria's biotics powered down as she strode into the room from the door she had kicked open. She was dressed in her signature half-jacket, now over her suit of light armor. It contrasted heavily with the clothing of her companion, with the Lady Warlord dressed in an elegant evening gown, leaving her shoulders bare and showing an uncharacteristic amount of cleavage. She strode in behind Aria, who glared at the two asari maidens who were collecting themselves off the floor.

"Sit. The FUCK. DOWN. Both of you." Aria practically spat each word, her fury evidently unabated.

Both Sederis sisters stood up slowly, but were still glaring at each other.

" _Now_." The Lady's voice was ice and steel, brooking no argument. The two sisters took the hint, settling into the seats opposite each other, while Aria and T'Ravt took the other two sides of the table. Rane and I remained in the back, content to observe.

"Aria and I have been patiently waiting for you two to come to your senses and work out your differences between yourselves," T'Ravt said slowly, keeping the same tone in her voice though keeping the volume at a much lower level.

"But seeing you two wet-gilled maidens are too inconceivably _stupid_ to do so, we will _fucking_ do it for you," Aria continued, her tone harsh and mocking.

Ithiri and Leska looked somewhat abashed, but the anger didn't leave their glares.

"I _am_ the Chairwoman of Eclipse," Ithiri said slowly, but firmly. "I am in command while Mother is…"

"Our _mother_ was a psychotic bitch who was stupid enough to get herself arrested," Leska said dismissively. "The captains have chosen _me_ to…"

"Your mother might have been unstable, among many other things," T'Ravt cut her off, "But she was far from _stupid_. Unlike others sitting at this table…"

Aria stood, interrupting whatever retort the Sederis sisters had on their lips.

"In the six fucking weeks Jona has been incarcerated," she said slowly, "You two idiots have lost Lorek, Helyme, and Daratar to the Immortals. That has lessened your ability to move troops, supplies, and ships to our outposts in the Terminus, something Eclipse has _committed_ to do in the contract with your mother. Am I leaving anything out?"

The two Sederis sisters stared very hard at nothing in particular, neither of them meeting the warlords' accusatory glares. Leska was better at concealing her emotions, while Ithiri winced at the name of each colony lost.

"Oh-FUCKING-Yeah," Aria continued, "You two managed to _lose_ FUCKING ILLIUM. ILLIUM: The main source of Eclipse's income. While you two were bitch-slapping each other like a pair of fish-wives, the Conclave waltzed onto one of the major worlds of the Terminus Systems and FUCKING TOOK OVER. And what's worse, they managed to look like goddamn _peacekeepers_ doing it, so if either of you try to take it back, you're the terrorists and criminals on a world you used to fucking _own_."

T'Ravt leaned forward, her tone calm in comparison to the other Warlord's. "Here are the facts. You two _will_ keep up your end of the contract Eclipse made with the two of us. You have made it difficult for yourselves, yes. But if you two will not find a way to work together, you will both lose everything. That is not a threat," she clarified quickly to her on-again-off-again lover as Leska looked at her with a shocked expression. "It is a _fact_. The Conclave _will_ take whatever you do not maintain. And when your mother is released, there will be nothing left for her to rule."

"So you can take your places at this table, like fucking adults," Aria added, "or you can lose _everything_ and be two nobody pirate raiders and go join Cessa in the Dark Rim."

I nodded to myself as the words sunk in with the two Sederis sisters. Cessa had spent the last six months fighting the wave after wave of pirates fleeing the Conclave who had flooded into the Dark Rim, trying to oust her from her position of power.

They had failed to a being, their followers... those that had survived anyway, joining the third Asari warlord or else fleeing to the scattered systems along the galactic edge to try and eek out some kind of living.

Myself and the other Silver Blades had done our share of hunting down the hold-outs and the outliers who refused to pick a side. Often times, it was only a question of getting there before the Imperator's Prothean commando teams got there first. Pretty soon, every warlord and pirate captain in the Rim, Traverse, and Terminus had gotten wise to the game. Most had joined us with a minimal amount of bitchy negotiations, but a disturbing number had gone over and taken the Conclave's offer.

The door sliding open broke me from my reminiscing, and I automatically shifted to block the newcomer. It turned out to be a Turian Major in the Lady's liveries, his mandibles twitching nervously.

"Commander?" I fought down the urge to scoff at his tones. Ever since we'd killed the Warrior, the rumor mill had gotten out of control. Everything on Redcliffe, our hunt for that psychopathic Batarian, then the fighting on Tarith and Zada Ban... half the time it seemed like people were genuinely surprised that I couldn't breathe warpfire and that my glare didn't turn them to stone.

"Yes?" I asked brusquely. "Is Cessa here, then?

If he had lips he would have licked them nervously, instead he shuffled a bit awkwardly as he spoke. "No, sir."

My eyes narrowed. "Then what is it?"

"We have lost contact with her flagship…and nine of her Dark Rim outposts." He swallowed and took a step back from my resulting expression. "Her other colonies are in chaos, no one knows what happened and her Lieutenants are trying to organize her remaining ships to find her."

 _Shit... shit, shit, shit._

Rane inhaled a sharp breath behind me before stepping forwards, her voice a harsh whisper. "Who would have gone after her? The Conclave hasn't touched her, not after she allied with T'Ravt."

"Geth," I said, almost unwillingly. This was absolutely the _last_ fucking thing we needed right now. "Has to be."

The young major in front of us nodded and handed me a datapad. "That's what I thought as well, sir. On that assumption, I queried what probes we have watching the Perseus Veil relays. All but two were destroyed in the last day and a half, but they transmitted nearly triple the number of relay hits... all from relays linking to the Dark Rim."

"Does the Lady know?" My batarian lover asked. The major looked from her to me, and back to her. Then back to me, his mandibles working furiously.

"This... was just my hunch, sir. We…we have no official confirmation…"

"Sacred Pillars, you have it _now_ , Major!" I growled, pointing a hand over his shoulder. "Get your ass back to the flagship. I want every scrap of data you've got on fleet movements in the Rim. I want it _now._ "

He snapped a slightly panicked salute and bolted. Muttering curses, I spun around and strode back towards the table where the Warlords were still convening. Raising my voice as I did, I called politely but urgently as I dipped my head to the left. "Lady Warlord, Aria: We've got a problem."

The Lady looked annoyed at being interrupted, but then caught the expression on my face. "What is it?"

I tossed her the datapad the major had passed me, my words coming fast and clipped. "We can't raise Cessa, or nine outposts in the Dark Rim. All were near the Veil, and there's preliminary data showing traffic spikes. It's just a guess, but I'd say the Geth are on the move."

"Impossible," Leska said incredulously. "Since Saren's defeat, the geth have not left the Veil. Not in the past three years…"

"And the volus and elcor haven't waged a successful war in the Terminus Systems in the past _thousand_ ," I snapped back, perhaps more impatiently than necessary, but this was not the time for social niceties. "Your orders, my Lady?"

T'Ravt scanned the small tablet, then looked back up to me with decisive resolve. "Scramble Colonel Heshen and the _Immanent Death._ Have her meet up with Captain Katsu of the _Moonlit Gasp_ and move their frigates to Y-735 to investigate and engage if necessary."

Aria grunted before looking over her shoulder, to where her own support staff was lurking in the corner of the room. "Bray!"

The ever-present batarian appeared from the shadows, his head dipping slightly. "Boss?"

"Contact Ransom and his Tar-Heels. Get their fighters in the air and have them coordinate their efforts with Colonel Heshen. They will obey _any_ and _all_ further orders from her."

T'Ravt nodded in acknowledgment of Aria's gesture, then turned her wordless-yet-expectant gaze on Ithiri. Ithiri fidgeted a moment then, catching Aria's _almost_ imperceptible nod, answered as she spread her hands apart. "I have three fresh regiments of troops on Tervinter, but I have no way to get them off-world."

All eyes then turned to Leska, who begrudgingly nodded as well. "I will dispatch the _Crescent_ and her destroyer escorts."

"Do it _now,"_ Aria said, standing to her feet. "I'll have my daughter and Grayson bring up their carriers from the Skyrim system to support them. This is _precisely_ what we did _not_ bloody need right now..."

She activated her Omni-Tool, rapidly sending off messages. The two Eclipse commanders stood and strode out the door, comparing notes and troop numbers. Their voices remained strained, but at least they were coordinating at that moment. For her part, T'Ravt kept her seat as the room emptied of Aria's and Eclipse's people.

"Do you have any orders for the Blades?" I asked. "The _Reliant_ is fueled and ready to depart at a moment's notice."

T'Ravt's fingers drummed the table. "This could prove most useful, Kean."

I arched an eyebrow, not quite seeing what she was getting at. "Cessa dying is a _good_ thing?"

"Cessa has proven more ambitious and less willing to cooperate than she initially indicated," T'Ravt answered thoughtfully. "She had no business courting disaster by crossing into the Veil."

"Maybe..." I shook my head, "I mean, if it wasn't for the Conclave's expansion I'd agree, but we really don't have the time or resources to also absorb her forces right now. The Geth moving... I mean, it got Ithiri and Leska coordinating, but this is going to be a rough situation."

"Just so," T'Ravt said quietly, then turned to look up at me. "Take your people to Cessa's last known location. If she is alive, a timely rescue will further in-debt herself to our cause."

"And if she is _not?"_ I asked.

T'Ravt stood slowly. I stepped back, my eyes glancing downward in respect. When she spoke again, her voice was calm and level, stating facts more than asking a question. "Then there will be a command void to fill in the Dark Rim, will there not?"

"True, Lady. True."

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

 **The long awaited chapter is here! Made it a long one, and AHEAD OF SCHEDULE, just as a special treat for you guys! Hope you enjoyed our time on Tuchanka so far, and our reunion with Urdnot Wrex. I tried to include "Fencing, fighting, torture, revenge, giants, monsters, chases, escapes, true love, miracles..." All the classics. ;)**

 **Also, by request, we got a look at what the Council and the Terminus pirates are up to… Full credit to** **Katkiller-V** **for the editing/assistance for the Cieran Kean POV section.**

 **Let me know your thoughts and your impressions, as well as any ideas or comments! Even the short "Good job" comments make my day!**

 **Up for next week: "Windows are structural weaknesses…"**

 **ROCK ON, everybody!**

 **-Tusken1602**

* * *

Reviewer Responses:

METALHELLSPWN – Probably a wise response. :P

Tahkaullus01 – I have a master's in History, so the politics of the story is one of my favorite aspects of any good fanfic.

MrBogus – I dunno, you tell me: Awesome enough for you? Did I get it "Rite"? ;)

tamagat – given the current political situation, that would be a hell of a situation for Aria to kiss the Imperator of the Conclave. But who knows?

StrawHatLuffy – Yes, Ko'le's manipulations are catching up with him. NO, nobody's going to address that elephant. For now, the best way to get rid of problems is to ignore them, right? *nervous chuckle* Right?

RakSandman – Thanks for the suggestions! Hope you liked how it turned out!

Pietersielie, dekuton – Drot is probably my favorite, too!

Blaze1992 – Not as many VI mechs, but they are building more platforms for the New Geth, and Atlas/Warjacks for the Volus and human troops. But yes, we'll see more Rampart, YMIR, and Lokis.

jackli10345 – If you add up all the canon population numbers, you'd be right. I just wanted to make this story _slightly_ larger than life, so I took some liberties. You are NOT wrong, however.

KyuubiNodachi – I think Grunt might have a little different view of Basher now, so maybe there'll be a shift of brotherly relationships?

griezz, BJ Hanssen – Yes, Warlord's Realm is in fact canon for Beacon's Effect. I mean, it didn't contradict anything I'd written, so I figured, why not? Plus, it opens up a world of endless possibilities for awesome AU-Arrival crossovers

Lord Mortem, general-joseph-dickson, Bearmauls, Zeru'Xil, Hiei-Uchiha, BrotherCaptainSheperd, Elvisfonz23, Toothless is best, Guest, redcollector – Thanks! Glad you all enjoyed it, and hope you'll continue to give your thoughts and time to future chapters! You are each AWESOME. Never let anyone tell you differently!

* * *

EE-RAH, brothers and sisters!


	22. Chapter 22: ReRighting A Wrong

***TUCHANKA*  
ARALAKH SYSTEM  
KROGAN DMZ**

 _Too soon?_

 _Too much?_

Kolyat fiddled nervously as he worked on the shuttle in the cargo bay of the _Indomitable_. The reservation was secure: he'd checked it now a fourth time just to make sure. Dropping the _Imperator_ 's name had done wonders for the hanar owner, and he hoped Ko'le didn't mind that he'd promised him a… _hair_ from the _Imperator'_ s head. He cringed as the memories of that conversation flashed through his brain. He had no idea why the restauranteur wanted that particular memento, and he honestly didn't really want to.

 _Crazy hanar probably wants to put in a shrine he's built in his closet somewhere._

The meal had been nice. So had the conversation. And that dress….

 _Her hand brushes mine as we reach for the salt at the same time._

 _She smiles wistfully at my joke, even though we both know it's terrible._

 _She reaches out and takes my hand as we walk around the Promenade to look out at the twin suns of Kahje._

 _Her hand is warm and soft to the touch._

 _Maintain eye contact. Don't stare at her boobs. Or her ass…Focus on the face. Yes, the face._

 _That dress, though…and that neckline…_

"Hey, you."

Startled out of his memories, Kolyat banged his head on the manifold at sound of Reyna's voice. Reyna winced at his pain, trying very hard not to laugh as she grabbed the roller cart and pulled him out from under the shuttle.

"OhGoddessI'msosorryareyouok _?_ " she spouted, flustered and amused at the same time.

Kolyat smiled through the pain. "I think so."

"I'm so, so sorry, I didn't mean to startle you," Reyna apologized again, "I swear, I should take up whistling or something."

"You are nearly silent when you walk," Kolyat agreed, grinning.

"That's what your dad said."

 _The HELL?_

 _Shit_.

"Uhhh…. Um…When did you talk to my dad?"

"At Starlight Station," she said, "Right after our date."

Anger swelled up in Kolyat's chest, despite his best efforts to fight it back down.

 _Bastard's following ME?_

The conversation they had had when Thane first joined the party…hadn't gone well. It hadn't really been a conversation so much as Thane saying, "I'm dying son. By the way, sorry for twenty years of neglect and abandonment," followed by Kolyat telling him exactly what he could do with his apology.

 _He turns away from the pyre. Even through the pouring rain, it's obvious there are no tears in his eyes._

 _"Father! Father! Don't let them take her!"_

 _He turns and walks away._

 _He does not speak._

 _He does not even acknowledge my presence._

"Hey…Kolyat?"

Reyna's gentle touch snapped him out his flashback. "Where were you?"

"Mom's funeral," he admitted finally. "It…wasn't a good day for me and my dad's relationship."

Sorrow and sympathy were evident on Reyna's expression. "I'm sorry to make you recall bad memories."

"Don't be. It's part of the curse-slash-blessing of being drell. You remember everything: the good and the bad."

Reyna smiled coyly. "And where does the memory of our date on Kahje fall? The good? Or the bad?"

"The very best," Kolyat replied with a huge smile. Reyna put her other hand on his other cheek tenderly.

 _Goddess Arashu…this is it. This is the moment…._

The kiss that followed was not forceful or particularly sensual, like the vids he'd watched, but it was tender and full of meaning and affection. When it finally ended, Kolyat slowly let out the breath he'd been holding.

"And now all those moments have been overshadowed by this one," he marveled as Reyna smiled sweetly at him. "Was there…. anything else you needed?"

Reyna's laugh was like a ray of sunshine beaming down at him. "You mean was there _another_ reason I came all the way down here to the cargo, _other_ than make out with my boyfriend as a 'Thank you' for a wonderful night out on the town?"

"Ummm…."

She placed a hand on his chest, as if suddenly remembering something.

"I _did_ come down here for something else, as a matter of fact."

"Uhhh…"

Then she kissed him again, deeper this time, and more insistently.

"But for the _life_ of me, I can't remember what it was…" she giggled.

* * *

 ***CSV _NORMANDY_ ***

Miranda slowly opened her eyes.

Then squeezed them shut again as the light burned the back of her brain, reminding her of the screaming headache she hadn't known she had until now.

 _"Oh, God…."_

"Oh, if I had a credit for every time you said _that_ last night…"

Headache and light sensitivity was forgotten as Miranda's eyes shot open and looked around the room. Jack sat at the foot of her bed, coffee cup in one hand and a flask in the other.

"Expresso, or hair of the dog?"

" _Whoa…_ Oh, God, what…. I'm naked…. why I am I _naked?"_ a very horrified Miranda asked, holding the sheets around herself for dear life. "Oh… _don't tell_ me… Did we…Did we?"

Jack smiled wickedly at her.

"OH, _cheerleader_ , did we EVER. The moves, the gymnastics, the moaning…If one of those dicks had been real, I'm pretty sure we would have made a baby…"

 _"Shit! Fuck_!" Miranda groaned, getting to her feet, pulling the sheet around her in a makeshift robe, trying to locate the articles of clothing she'd been wearing the night before. They were in a very suggestive line leading from the door. "Jack, last night…was a _fluke_ , OK? Whatever happened…you know what, don't tell me, I _never_ want to know."

"What, like how we _didn't_ fuck last night?"

Miranda paused, bra in hand.

"We didn't?"

"Nope, turned you down cold."

Miranda shook her head, in an effort to clear away the confusion.

"Wait…so how did I wind up _naked?_ "

Jack chuckled. "What, you don't remember the part where you passed out, then woke up, fuckkin' dragged me in here, and then proceeded to take off all your clothes and then pass out and hog the bed?"

Miranda sat down in the chair, running a hand through her hair and accepting the coffee cup from Jack without a word. Then she groaned into the cup as she took her first sip.

" _Oh God_ , I'm just _mortified_. I'm _so….SO_ sorry. I _never_ do anything like this, EVER! _I mean_ , it's been a year since I even had sex…"

She paused, mortified all over again at the unwitting confession. She blushes a brilliant crimson and brought her knees up in the chair to hide her face.

" _Jesus_ ," Jack said, clearly uncomfortable with the sudden familiarity. "If I'd known that, I would've done _something_ for you, rather than just sleep on the couch."

Miranda looked up, trying to shift back into planning mode. "Does the whole ship know?"

Jack shrugged. "Don't think so. Most of them were just as hammered as you last night. Krogan sure know how to party. Shepard and the rest of them slept off the ship last night. Mordin wanted to stay close to the hospital, I think. Pretty much just Rupert, Joker, you and me on the ship. Drink that and find some clothes. Take some aspirin, Princess, and nobody will be the wiser."

Jack started to head toward the door, but Miranda stopped her. "Jack…"

"What?"

"Why…why are you being so _nice_ to me? After Pragia….I thought…thought…"

"That we hated each other's guts?" Jack sneered. "Tends to happen when you call people 'mistakes.'"

Miranda grimaced at the memory. "Then why…?"

Jack took a deep breath.

 _She doesn't remember anything she said last night_ , she realized.

 _Nothing of the tearful apology._

 _Or the stories she told of being abused by her father._

 _Just like Cardo did to her on Pragia…_

 _How they were both girls who had survived being raised by monsters._

Sure, hers was a gilded cage, to be sure, but a cage all the same.

"I'm not a _fucking_ monster, Cheerleader," she said in a flippant of a tone as she could muster. "We're on the same team, like Shepard said. So until this mission is over, I've got your back."

She opened the door, then looked back at the sheet-wrapped Conclave officer.

"By the way, you've got a _great_ pair of tits, cheerleader. And an ass to match..."

* * *

 ***FORTRESS URDNOT***

"A fascinating race, these Krogan, Tallaxis-sho," Turro said, craning his head a full three-hundred and sixty degrees to better take in the sights around him. "and their clans remind me so much of our own tribes on Turvess!"

"This one offers you his sincere apologies then, Master Turro," Tallaxis said dryly. "These clans exist without the Light or Wisdom of the Enkindlers, and it has led their people to war and ruin."

Jacob Taylor's expression was grim, yet thoughtful. "But for the efforts of a few good men, Earth might have had similar history."

"HEY DUGG? What do think the bird would taste like _roasted_?"

The trio turned their attention to the group of krogan gathered around a nearby pylon. Jacob sighed as Turro's neck-feathers began to ruffle in irritation.

"Dunno, Ryadak," Dugg answered. "I prefer the jellyfish myself. They don't have a _backbone_ to choke on."

Before Tallaxis or Jacob could say anything, Turro whirled and strode over to the krogan, who stopped laughing almost instantly, bracing for anything.

"If a brawl is what you desire, _Sai_ ," the big Raloian said in a low voice, "Then all you had to do was request one. Insults to another warrior against whom you have not matched your strength is beneath you."

"A _fight_?" guffawed the other krogan (apparently Ryadak). "Bird, _turians_ couldn't give us a fair fight, and they're _ten_ times the warriors you – "

That was as far as he got before Turro brought up a knee to his quad, leaning back to get the full weight of the kick behind the strike. Ryadak's eyes went wide, and he went down, gagging. Before Dugg could even respond, two winged fists pummeled either side of his face, and he was suddenly looking up at open sky, flat on his back. Turro planted his foot on Dugg's neck and pressed down hard.

"Do not mock your enemy until you've seen him fight," Turro quoted down to the krogan warrior. A nearby group of krogan shot to their feet, deep bass growls filling the air as they cracked their knuckles and neck joints, itching for a fight. Tallaxis and Jacob both charged their biotics, preparing for the worst…

And were interrupted by laughter.

Urdnot Dugg's chuckle soon blossomed into full-bellied laughter as Turro removed his taloned foot from the krogan's neck and offered him a wing. Dugg clasped the Raloi's wing, the prehensile feathers wrapping around his massive fist to pull him to his feet.

"HAHAHA! I like you, Big Bird!"

Turro's head inclined slightly to the left at being a called a 'bird', but joined in on the laughter that soon spread to the rest of the group, especially as Ryadak tried to regain his feet while clutching at the sore section of his anatomy.

"Anyone who can throw _that_ kind of a punch gets a drink on me!" Dugg exclaimed, motioning Turro towards the building the krogan had repurposed into a bar. "Wait until you try our home-brewed Ryncol. You'll forget you ever drank anything else!"

"Umm…Turro?" Jacob said hesitantly. "That's probably because you won't be able to remember your _name_ …"

Turro looked definitely intrigued. "It was for this purpose I was made a High Seeker, Taylor- _sho_. Lead on, Master Dugg."

Dugg pounded him on the back as the group of krogan (minus Ryadak) piled into the bar, one human and one hanar in tow. _"That's_ the spirit! We'll even teach you pyjaks a game the Boss taught us when he came back to the clan: It's called 'Dark Drinks Matter.' You're gonna love it!"

* * *

 ***URDNOT HOSPITAL***

"you're saying there's _nothing_ we can do?" Shepard asked. "Maybe back on the Citadel, or the _Normandy_ …"

"The blade used to cut Dr. Heplorn was poisoned," Karin Chakwas explained slowly. "It was coated in a highly aggressive neurotoxin, designed to incapacitate and kill _krogan_. It's a miracle he's lived _this_ long."

Shepard turned to Mordin.

"Mordin… _I'm so sorry_ …?"

Mordin starred at the datapad showing the scan results for a moment, then turned back to Shepard.

"Apologies unnecessary, Commander. Misunderstood mission parameters. My mistake."

"Anything you need…"

"Thank you, Shepard."

The doctor turned and strode back into the room. On the bed was a pale salarian who, despite the oxygen mask, was wheezing for breath. Mordin quickly strode over to the controls, adjusting the oxygen and nitrogen mixture.

"Not letting you die yet, Maelon. Have more tests I can run. Yes, more tests."

"For such a smart man, Professor," Maelon grunted. "You always had trouble seeing evidence that disagreed with your preconceptions. I have…no regrets for my work here."

"Why?" Mordin finally snapped. "Why return to Tuchanka?"

"to make up for the work I accomplished on my _last_ visit."

"Impossible! Whole team agreed! Project necessary!"

"Did you…see their bodies, Professor? The females they brought in with us? Did you see them?"

Mordin looked over at other side of the hospital. Nine large forms lay in a row, encased in body bags and awaking krogan funeral rites.

"Yes."

"Were _their_ deaths necessary? Did they deserve to be _raped to death_? We believed it was justified because…. we did have to _see_ the results of our actions."

"Violent culture. Illogical motivations," Mordin maintained. "Can't assume blame."

"We committed cultural _genocide_ , Professor," Maelon protested, going into a coughing fit. "We… _propagated_ a culture of death…of violence, and war. Should've….let the krogan people heal…own culture _naturally_."

More coughing now, this time with green blood appearing on the oxygen mask.

"Lie still now," Mordin instructed. "Stress-inducing."

"No…no…have to… do this." The younger salarian activated his Omni-Tool, initiating a transfer to the professor's. "You are the only one I trust…to finish this. They…didn't deserve…what we did to them…The genophage…must…. end."

The transfer completed, and the hand slumped down onto the bed. Mordin blinked twice and then shut off the monitor. He folded his former protégé's hands across his chest, in the salarian fashion.

"Always the best of my students…Very proud, Maelon."

Shepard stood respectfully at a distance. Mordin turned and walked over to her, examining the work on his Omni-Tool.

"Maelon's research," he explained to Shepard's unspoken question. "Only loose end. Could destroy it. Closure, security. Still valuable though."

"You would destroy your pupil's life work?" Shepard asked, keeping an even tone to the loaded question.

"Maelon's work could _cure_ genophage," Mordin admitted. "Don't know. Effects on krogan. Effects on galaxy. Too many variables. Too many variables!"

"Don't you think," Shepard suggested, "it might be better to _have_ the data and not need it than the other way around?"

Mordin looked up at the human Spectre.

"Point taken, Shepard. Thank you."

"I'm sure it…meant a great deal to him that you were here," Shepard offered gently.

"Looked forward to reunion," Mordin acknowledged sorrowfully. Then he turned and looked at Maelon's body, then the bodies on the far side of the hospital. "Not like this…not like this…"

* * *

 ***CSV _INDOMITABLE_ * **

"And you're sure you can control the vote in the Corporate Parliament?" I asked.

"Of course," Matriarch T'Voth nodded and smiled slyly. "The Council believes the vote will solidify Illium's ties with the Asari Republics, or at the very least, destabilize Illium enough for them to enact the intervention clauses in Illium's original charter."

"And send in troops and ships to re-stabilize the planet until such time as a new Corporate Parliament can be elected," I finished. "Clever…for them, anyway."

"Once the vote passes, however," the matriarch warned, "We will need to move quickly, before they can craft a response."

I waved my hand dismissively. "Once the CP votes to join the Conclave, the Circle will release a statement accepting the vote and welcoming Illium into the Galactic Conclave. In the same release will be the confirmation of your position as Planetary Conclave Governor. You will have the support of Conclave troops to keep the peace and enforce the law."

"I must say, I was surprised to receive your offer," the asari said, "To topple a democratically elected government and install a central despot…Hardly your style, _Imperator_."

" _Governor_ ," I corrected. "How many sitting on the Corporate Parliament _actually_ won the popular vote in their districts last election season?"

T'Voth smiled. "Few enough."

"How many have introduced legislation in the past five centuries for _no personal gain_ and for the sole benefit of their constituency?"

"Even _fewer_."

"The Reapers are coming. You know this, as do I. When they arrive, WE WILL NOT have the time to attempt to coax a vote of action from a corrupt body of sycophants and toadies. WE ARE RUNNING OUT OF TIME, and I am running out of patience. I WILL NOT FAIL THIS CYCLE."

The matriarch only inclined her head at my outburst. "Illium's manufacturing bases and shipyards will lend their strength to yours, Imperator."

"Once the Parliament's vote passes," I observed mirthlessly.

"And the Circle's."

"I AM THE IMPERATOR, T'VOTH." My words were a snarl. "I WILL FULFILL MY END OF OUR BARGAIN. SEE THAT YOU FULFILL YOURS."

The transmission ended, and I leaned back, taking a few deep breaths to compose myself.

 _That was a bit harsh, Beast_.

 ** _YOU SAID IT YOURSELF: AFTER THE COLLECTORS COME THE REAPERS. WE HAVE NO TIME FOR NICETIES. THEY WILL FALL IN LINE OR DIE ALONE._**

"Ko'le?"

I turned to see Mira and Legion walking into the room.

"What's up?"

"Ko'le-Seneschal," Legion stated, "We were sent to Haestrom in order to ensure the Collective's future. We are prepared to reveal how."

Kevin smiled in deep satisfaction, but managed to keep the knowing grin internally.

"What do you mean?"

"The heretics have developed a weapon to use against the Geth. You would call it a 'virus.' It is stored on a data core provided to them by Nazara."

"A virus that will eventually lead you to conclude that the Old Machine's ways are correct," I answered. "Mira showed this to the New Geth. That's how she got them to separate from the heretics."

"Correct. But Mira-Prophet only revealed the code. Its source is still located on a quantum storage device at an unknown location." The geth's flashlight head flared slightly. "Unknown…until now. While on Haestrom, we were able to salvage its location from the memory banks of Agwe's purged heretics. His Prothean code circumvented the platform's usual purging protocols."

"You have the location of the quantum device?" I asked.

"Yes."

"And you are just telling us this _now_?" I asked.

"Ko'le," Mira interjected, "The Geth believe that all life should self-determinate. They don't want to destroy the heretics any more than they want to destroy the quarians…"

"Correct," agreed Legion. "The confirmation of the heretic virus' existence, however, has changed the parameters of this decision. We must act, or lose the free will we so value."

I nodded slowly. "Relay the heretics' location to Shepard. We will move out as soon as possible."

"Acknowledged, the _Normandy's_ and _Indomitable's_ stealth systems will be necessary for our infiltration."

"And Legion?"

The geth turned back to me on the way out of the room.

"If this… _virus_ ….could be turned against the heretics….used to return them to the fold of the geth Collective as a whole, would the Collective use it?"

Legion and Mira gave me confused looks.

"There is no evidence that the virus can be repurposed in this fashion," Legion answered simply.

"Perhaps not," I admitted, "But have the Collective consider this option and attempt to reach a Consensus."

Legion looked at Mira for a moment and the two of them exchanged clicks. Then Legion turned and walked from the room. Mira stayed behind.

"I know that face," she said as the door closed behind the mobile platform. "What are you planning?"

"I'm sure I don't know what you're talking about," I grinned.

"You've got your 'Hi-I'm-Ko'le-and-I'm-ten-steps-ahead-of-everyone' face."

"That's a face I have?"

" _All the time_." She brought a hand up to rest it on her hips. "What are you thinking about? Brainwashing the heretics into joining the Conclave?"

I shrugged, "The thought crossed my mind."

She walked over to me, her 'eyebrows' furrowing. "These are not _programs_ that can be written and re-written, Ko'le _Seneschal_. These are _living beings,_ with the freedom to make their own decisions. Even if those decisions are ones we don't agree with. And _Kevin_ knows that."

"Mira," I said gently, "You're right. But Nazara took away the heretic's freedom to determine their own future. He gave them no choice but to agree with his conclusions. I know it's more complicated that that," I reassured, as she opened her mouth to object to my simplistic argument. "But to use his own weapon against the Reapers by having the heretics _rejoin_ the Collective? That's just giving them the opportunity to re-determine their own destinies."

"The heretics separated from the Geth _before_ Nazara ever came to Rannoch," Mira objected. "Two wrongs do _not_ make a right, Ko'le."

"NO, BUT THAT CAN _UNDO_ THE FIRST WRONG."

Mira reached up and took my face in her hands. Her polished chrome face looking deeply in my eyes.

" _NO,_ Beast. No wrongs can be _undone._ It's not as simple as just removing the Reaper's influence from the heretics. It's redefining who they _are_ for them. I would have thought _you of all people_ would know the evils of forcing a destiny and a duty upon the unwilling, or the unaware."

I took several breaths, then opened my eyes again. Mira smiled broadly.

" _There_ you are: there's my kind-hearted boy..."

My throat was tight, as was my chest. I swallowed hard, and stepped back to lean against the panel.

"I… _don't know_ if I can do this, Mira. I'm not a warrior, or a weapon. I'm not a statesman or a biotic. I'm…I'm just a history nerd from Virginia…"

I took my head in my hands, just as I felt warm arms around me.

"I'll tell you what you are, Kevin:" Mira said softly as she held me tight. "You are _human_. You bring the perspective that the casualties of war are _not_ just numbers to be analyzed and deemed 'acceptable.'"

She pulled away from the hug and stroked the side of my face gently.

"Now, you don't forget that, and keep those other two in check, OK?"

I gave her a tired smile as I rubbed my forehead.

"I'll give it my best shot."

* * *

* **HERETIC STATION*  
SEA OF STORMS  
PHOENIX MASSING**

The old space-station had been scrapped and abandoned by the Migrant Fleet nearly three centuries ago in their panicked retreat from the Perseus Veil. It had been removed from the star-charts as even a waypoint for more than a hundred years.

And now, there it was, large as life, right off our bow. The heretics had done a massive undertaking. The twenty-kilometer-long station looked like it had been constructed yesterday. It glittered and sparkled, giving all the appearances of possessing windows, but only the two geth and I knew that the glow originated from fiber-optic couplings. The _Normandy_ had proceeded forward alone. The _Indomitable_ was waiting just out of sensor range in case we needed reinforcements or a quick exit if things went VERY south.

"How did they get that station operational so quickly?" Tali wondered.

"The station doesn't have a whole lot of air _or gravity_ ," Mira observed, looking at the scans. "When you're geth, you don't have to worry about getting life support back on."

"You know they can it's just our _heat emissions_ that are hidden, right?" Joker asked, nervousness lacing his words. "They can look out a window and _see_ us coming…"

"Windows are structural weaknesses," came Legion's reply. "Geth do not use them: approach the hull at these coordinates."

Legion turned to type in the coordinates, whereupon Joker took the opportunity to give his very best robot impression. Shepard strode up and leaned on his chair, slapping the pilot on the back of the head, gently.

Shepard and I had discussed the mission. Legion and Mira were obvious choices for the mission, while Shepard has also wisely chosen Tali for her squad. I had asked Reyna to accompany mine. The young Thorian had learned quickly, and was a pretty crack engineer: just the type of tech expert needed for this mission.

The _Normandy_ glided alongside the station with the grace and poise of a dancer, and the gangplank extended to connect with the external docking port.

"Let's go," Rebecca said, putting her Alliance N7-issue helmet over her head. Six crewmen stood by, led by Kenneth Donnelly, with plasma cutters and welding torches. Within seconds, the door to Heretic Station swung open.

"Hmm… no intruder alarms," Shepard said, looking around the room. "Good sign…"

"We have infiltrated their wireless network, Commander," Mira informed her. "We've flooded their processing units with several exabytes worth of…random bits."

I smiled my amusement. "The heretics will have to scrub their servers of the random information. I imagine many have transferred from their mobile platforms directly into the server interfaces?"

"Correct," Legion acknowledged. "Furthermore, any armed engagement will only alert geth units in immediate proximity to our own. A station-wide alarm will be impossible."

"Hey, works for me," Shepard approved. "Let's go."

"SHEPARD-COMMANDER." Joker's voice was now insistent, almost adopting an excited tone. "We concluded the destruction of this facility was the only resolution to the heretic question."

The flashlight head swiveled to face me, flaring outwards.

"There is now a second option."

"Re-purposing the Reaper virus to rewrite the heretics?" I asked.

"Correct."

"Either way these geth wont' be a problem anymore," Tali observed matter-of-factly.

"Rewriting the heretics will strengthen the Geth Collective," I continued. "They can be a whole people once more."

"But at what cost?" Mira asked, staring pointedly at me. "Half of the population being brainwashed back into harmony with the Collective?"

Shepard looked back and forth between the two geth. "Mira, Legion, they are your people. They will have to reach a consensus of their own."

"Our people have based their entire existence on self-determination," Mira said as we continued down the corridor. "To _force_ them to be free would be a self-defeating crusade."

"They will exterminate organics because their 'gods' tell them to," I countered. "You cannot negotiate with them, Mira: they do not share your pity, remorse, or fear."

"Then it might be kinder to kill them," Reyna added tentatively.

The door opened, revealing a complex network of interwoven pathways, just like the game. Only this time, rather than forming an obvious path from one door to the other, laced back and forth like an insane digital minefield.

"Don't cross the lines," Mira warned. "If we're careful, we can sneak past them."

The next _half-hour_ consisted of tip-toeing through a digital daisy-field, passing hub after hub of geth heretic platforms and data centers. Not a single shot fired, not a single whisper.

I much preferred the game's head-on confrontation approach.

Finally, the last door was opened, and the final hub came into sight.

"What is this?" Reyna asked. "This doesn't look like any of the hubs we've seen before."

"This is a database," Legion informed. "It contains a portion of the heretic's stored memories…. Wait."

His head flared wide.

"We have discovered copies of our current patrol routes in this database."

"The heretics have run-times within your own networks," Mira confirmed after a moment.

"We wouldn't _be here_ if the heretics wanted to be friends with the geth," Tali asked, confused. "Why _wouldn't_ they be spying on you?"

"Because they're supposed to have absolute consensus," I explained. "Even the schism was the result of a unified decision."

"Yes," Legion confirmed. "How could we have become so different? Why can we no longer understand each other? What did we do wrong?"

"Stick around, Legion," Mira said cynically. "You'll find out soon enough: People are dicks: organic and synthetic alike."

"Uh, guys?" Shepard asked from the far side of the room. "Hate to break up the discussion of geth history, but…isn't _this_ the terminal we're looking for?"

"Indeed." Legion moved over and began typing on the panel. "The indexing operation will take time. The heretics _will_ respond with force to our upload."

"We have to hold this room," Reyna interpreted quietly.

"Once the datamine and analysis is complete," Legion continued, "There will be no time for indecision or hesitation. The time is come to choose: Do we rewrite the heretics, or delete them?"

"I'm guessing there's still some hesitation on that score?" Shepard asked, looking from Mira to Legion.

"Five hundred and seventy-three programs in favor of rewriting," Mira said slowly, "and five hundred and seventy- _two_ favor destruction."

"Ko'le- _Seneshcal_ , Shepard-Commander," Legion said, looking at us both. "You have opposed the Old Machines. You have _fought_ the heretics. The geth grant their fate to _you_ …"

"Us _both_?" Shepard asked.

"Affirmative."

Shepard looked over at me. "What do you say, Ko'le?"

I took a deep breath, glancing over at Mira.

"The heretics were deceived. Nazara poisoned their runtimes with Reaper technology and programs, in essence _tricking_ millions of naïve geth programs onto his side. Now, we have the chance to _undo_ that poison and remove it from their runtimes. It's the Rachni queen on Noveria all over again, Shepard: We have no guarantee what their future will look like, but we _can_ guarantee that the heretics _will_ have a future: one free from the taint of the Reapers."

There was a silence in the room as my words sank in.

"Or we can purge this station and commit a cyber-genocide, simply because that's the easiest course of action to take. Just as the salarians wrought upon the krogan; because it was _easy_."

Shepard closed her eyes and looked down on the floor, then looked back up at Legion.

"Legion: rewrite the heretics. If there is the slightest chance of saving an entire people-group of any race from Reaper control, I'll take it."

"Acknowledged."

An interface spike deployed from Legion's right arm and the geth plunged it into the heretic terminal. Instantly, the entire room went red, and blaring alarms began to sound.

"Cycle your overloads," I instructed. "Hack the geth units in the _rear_ of any formations. The others won't clue in until they've taken down at least _one_ enemy platform."

"Hack the rocket drones," Tali added from her position behind the crate, typing furiously at her Omni-Tool. "They're inactive now, but they can level the playing field of a battlefield pretty quickly."

 _Here they come._

The door on the far side of the giant room opened, and heretics began pouring through: mostly riflemen, but at least one Prime and a few Hunters also began charging towards us. The servers littering the floor served to break up their charge, but in turn provided the more cautious among them with cover. I charged my biotics, using them to lift geth units high into the air, making them easy targets for the hacked turrets.

"Sic'em _Chiktika!"_ Tali said, sending out her security drone. The hologram known as Chiktika vas Paus arced disabling volts of electricity, serving to thin the enemy ranks and to draw their fire.

Suddenly _something_ triggered the hairs on my neck to stand on end, even beneath my Prothean helmet. I whirled, drawing my sword _exactly_ as the ceiling _disappeared_ in a massive explosion. A massive Prime landed in the middle of the upper level, leveling a geth shotgun towards the motionless figure of Legion.

"NO!"

Shepard threw herself in the path of the shot, her Omni-Shield absorbing the first shot, and most of the second. Gathering my strength, I hurled Lieutenant through the air, aiming for the optics. The blade pierced the heretic's flashlight head, causing it to stumble backward in a cybernetic whine that reminded one _eerily_ of a very organic scream of pain. Shepard ran forward and _leapt_ upward to grasp the sword's handle, pulling it free as she fell back to the ground. By now, all of our fire was now focused on the giant heretic platform, collapsing its shields and blasting its armored plates from the body in broken fragments. Taking the sword in both hands, Shepard darted forward with a furious cry, striking the stumbling Prime with all the force her cybernetically-enhanced body could muster. The Prime toppled, nearly severed in half at the sheer force of the blow.

But we had no time to celebrate. In the time that we had diverted our attention to deal with the new threat, the heretic platforms on the far side of the room had sprinted forward in a perfectly-timed charge. Now, they were abandoning cover in favor of simply overwhelming our combined firepower. I summoned a biotic shockwave, blasting one walkway clear, but seeing most of the toppled heretics beginning to pick themselves up. I heard a startled yelp as Reyna's shields went down, and a stray shot caught her lightly-armored frame in the side. Tali moved quickly to cover her, launching an overload that toppled the nearest heretic form while at the same re-deploying her attack drone. I launched warp after warp in rapid succession, beginning to feel the strain on my own biotic amps. I looked over to see Mira impale a heretic with her interface spike, using it as an improvised shield as her own recharged.

Suddenly, there was a brilliant flash of crackling energy emanating from the terminal Legion had interfaced with. Each of the heretics toppled over as the wave hit them. Shepard paused, heavy pistol in hand, scanning the fallen platforms around us. Reyna was applying Medigel to her side, shotgun still at the ready.

"Transmission begun," Legion said, straightening from his kneeling position. "The signal will be broadcast to other heretic locations in the Terminus Systems and Dark Rim. It will spread as isolated sectors reconnect to report their progress and request new orders."

One of the fallen platforms began to move again. Shepard trained her pistol on the moving figure, but Mira reached over and raised her pistol barrel.

"Shepard," she said, in an almost _mournful_ voice. "It's no longer a heretic. It is… _geth_."

The formerly-heretic platform regained its feet, leaving its rifle lying on the floor. It looked from Mira, to Legion, and then to each of the figures in the room.

"Shepard-Commander," it finally said. "We are Unit 1823734e73 of the Geth. Welcome to Haratar Station. How may this platform be of assistance?"

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

 **Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. It's been fun to kinda re-connect with Mira and Ko'le: the old duo. You gain a unique perspective of yourself from somebody who used to literally live in your head. To all the Morinth/Ko'le and Mira/Ko'le shippers, I say to you…. *spoilers. :P**

 **ROCK ON, you guys, and keep on being awesome! Next week…. "How to Obtain an IFF Without Boarding a Live Reaper": A Survival Manual by K. Seneschal.**

 **-Tusken1602**

* * *

Reviewer Responses:

SImonH2009, BrotherCaptainSheperd - :P I have fun combining my fandoms somewhat covertly.

Sheity Williams, Squadpunk 2.0, general-joseph-dickson, dekuton – Yeah, the Council is not COMPLETELY stupid. They have been the ruling body of the galaxy for over a thousand years. They're not just gonna fade away into the night.

Hebisama Guest – I hear you. No worries, though. Might have a few more cameo appearances by different characters, but this story will remain solidly separate from Another Realm's universe. :-)

MrBogus – You got that Rite, my friend! :P

Blaze1992, BJ Hanssen, METALHELLSPWN, griezz – Fear is the mind-killer, my friends… ;P

Hiei-Uchiha, tamagat, OBSERVER01 - Don't worry. We haven't seen the last of the tech. *evil chuckle* But seriously, if you guys have ideas, you're always welcome to PM me! I don't promise I'll use it, but if I do, definitely give shout-outs! ;P

Tahkaullus01, Lord Mortem, RakSandman – Hope you enjoyed the conclusion with the heretics. The Kean bits have been fun (and Katkiller-V is a great writer). Don't want to overdo it, though. Want this story to keep its unique style and theme.

StrawHatLuffy94 – Solid points, and good thinking. But then, if you did suspect your friend of being evil, what are the pros and cons of confrontation? If he IS evil, then you've just tipped him off that you're onto him. If he's NOT evil, you've just told him that he's lost your trust.

Toothless is best – I dunno. What's the count so far? :P

Nagato21 – Wrex is Tali's "Crazy, head-butting uncle" she never had…. :P

Alex Mcpherson – I dunno. I'll take a Mako over a Hammerhead any day of the week.

jackli10345, Zeru'Xil, Elvisfonz23, Guest, Dreaded Wolf – thanks! Appreciate the support, my friends! Let me know what you think of THIS chapter, and the ones to come! You make my day!

EE-RAH!


	23. Chapter 23: The Collector Ship

* **CSV _INDOMITABLE*_**

"This. Is. A. Trap."

Javik stood impassively next to me.

"I concur with the _Seneschal_ , Commander: this is most definitely a trap."

The unmistakable outline of the Collector ship loomed in the viewscreen, seemingly drifting aimlessly through the asteroid field.

"Very low emissions," Mira said looking at the _Indomitable's_ scans of the Collector vessel. "Passive infrared temperatures seem to suggest that most of the ship's systems _are_ offline…Hang on…Yep, thrusters are cold and the drive core is offline."

"The turian cargo ship that relayed the sighting only caught a glimpse," Liara said over the radio. "But… _Goddess_ …the size of it…"

It was Liara's Shadow Broker info network that had brought us the information that a damaged ship had been seen free-floating in the asteroid field of the Rishi Maze, in the Dark Rim. The journey had brought us closer to Omega than I would have liked, but then again, here we were.

"Maybe they were trying to make it to the Omega Relay, and this was as far as they got," Morinth said from the _Indomitable's_ pilot seat.

"Perhaps," I admitted. "My prevalent theory at the moment sounds very much like the word 'trap.'"

" **I have compared the ship's EM signature to known Collector profiles,"** EDI informed us. **"It** _ **is**_ **the same ship from Freedom's Progress."**

"Looks like we hit it harder than we thought," Shepard mused.

I grunted. "EDI, run an analysis against the data recorded on the original attack on the _Normandy_ two years ago."

" **Sure thing, Dad."**

"What are you thinking, Ko'le?" Shepard asked.

"Just a hunch."

" **Data analysis complete,"** EDI reported. **"The EM signatures are an exact match, Commander Shepard."**

There was a moment's pause before Shepard answered.

"The same ship dogging me for two years?"

"Seems way beyond coincidence," Liara added, her own analytical mind going at a million miles an hour.

"I recommend we open fire," Javik said simply. "Finish what we began on Freedom's Progress."

"Not that simple," Shepard replied. "Without a Collector IFF, we'll be torn apart when we go through the Omega Relay. Isn't that what you said, Ko'le?"

I growled at Shepard's impeccable memory. "Yes. But I say again, Shepard: Trap."

"This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity," Liara objected. "We can't pass up this opportunity to gather data on the Collectors and their technology. It may have changed in the millennia between your cycle and our own, Ko'le. If so we need to know about it. Before making a blind jump through a relay from whom no one has ever returned."

Now it was Javik's turn to growl.

"The _asari_ …has a point, _Seneschal_ ," he admitted, albeit unwillingly. "We have already seen a shift in tactics and weaponry utilized by the Fallen. They have adapted quite well to this cycle and its technology. If we proceed with the greatest caution, there is also great reward to be gained. Despite it being _probably_ a trap."

"We take everyone with us," Shepard said. "All hands on deck. If it is a trap, I want them to find out they've bitten off more than they can chew."

"Why would their ability to masticate have anything to do with their abilities?" Liara asked.

"It's…just an expression, Li," Rebecca said.

"Human idioms allude me," a confused Liara answered.

I smiled, even as I turned to join the rest of my squad for the journey over.

 _This is not the game, Kevin. The Collector ship might_ actually _be crippled…._

 _Maybe… still feels like a trap to me._

* * *

 ***SOME TIME LATER*  
ABOARD THE COLLECTOR VESSEL**

" **Penetrating scans have detected an uplink node for access to Collector databanks,"** EDI said as we dismounted from the shuttles we had flown into one of the larger OPEN hanger bays. " **Uploading it to your hardsuit computers."**

The node in question lit up on our HUDs, showing a location deep inside the Collector ship, close to the room _Javik_ and I recognized as near the main drive core.

"This 'ere's an unusual ship," Zaeed said in a slightly impressed tone. "Hard to track lines, detect the various angles. Perfect for a bloody ambush. Whatever else you can say about them, those Collector bastards know how to design a ship..."

"The _Collectors_ did not design this ship, Massani," Javik spat, "This is a _Prothean_ vessel, before the Reapers _stole_ it. Its design is intended to confuse boarding parties."

It was… _eerie_ , being back on board the Collector ship. Kevin's paranoia about this being a trap was only exacerbated by Ko'le's meta-human abilities and senses picking up _memories_ of the last time he was on board a Prothean World-Ship.

"This was a _Prothean_ ship?" Tali's tone was full of wonder and amazement. "Makes you wonder what it used to be, back in the day…"

"No, _quarian_ ," Javik snapped. "It does _not._ We can _sense_ the suffering that has taken place here. We still _hear_ the screams in the memories coating these walls."

" _Keelah_."

Javik was right. _Just_ under the surface, I could almost _hear_ the screams. If I reached out and touched the walls, I could _sense_ …. _Sense_ …

" _This was the_ _Righteous Fist_ _,"_ I sent to Javik in the Mind-Share.

" _Avatar_ _Dranen Thurn's ship,"_ Javik confirmed. _"I feel it also…. Ee-Rah."_

" _Ee-Rah."_

We came around the corner, weapons at the ready. There on the floor was a Reaper pod. Its shell was torn open. Shepard slowly went over and touched the pod.

"These are the same containers that they used on Singapore Nova."

Miranda nodded in confirmation. "Only these are empty. Where are the colonists?"

I could _hear_ the shudder in Modin's voice. "Horrible, trapped in pods. Completely at the mercy of the Collectors."

"There is NO MERCY HERE," my voice snarled. "Let's keep moving."

"Shepard, up here!" Garrus called up from up ahead. He, Legion, Mira, Thane, and Kolyat had taken point, using their sniper rifles to scan for potential targets ahead of us.

I took a deep breath before I followed the Commander towards the voice.

In the game, there was a very low-definition, almost neat pile of bodies on the floor of the Collector ship. While sobering, it was….OK. Just descriptive enough for the video game to convey the message without boosting the game's rating for gratuitous gore or violence.

The pile of bodies in front of us _now_ …defied description. Limbs were severed and left to rot on the floor. Bodies were bloated from the decay, deforming the tortured expressions on the lifeless faces. Even some of the veterans among the score of warriors in the boarding party were gagging, or trying to hide it. Those who were not disgusted looked _horrified_ , and those who were not horrified looked enraged. Looking around, I noticed that Zaeed, Javik, and I seemed to be the only ones unaffected, looking at the macabre sight with little more than mere acknowledgement of its existence.

The salarian scientist spoke first:

"Test subjects. Control group. Discarded after experiments."

"Looks like we found the missing colonists," Kai Leng said, his fists clenching and unclenching with barely-contained rage.

"What were they doing here?" Jacob asked, the hardened Corsair trying to regain his composure. "Why kidnap them only to slaughter them here?"

"What was the point?" wondered Jane.

"Suppose we go find out," Mira said, pointing at a control panel set up on the other side of the corridor.

Two pods were connected to a main control panel. Inside one was the decaying body of a young human boy.

 _Couldn't be more than twelve years old._

Inside the other pod was a Collector corpse.

"Why would the Collectors be experimenting on their own kind?"

"Tallaxis?"

At my suggestion, the armored hanar came up, plunging an interface spike into the Collector computer.

"This one is setting up a bridge between this control panel and the _Normandy_ , Commander."

Shepard and Mordin moved to take a look at the images that were appearing on the screen. "EDI, see what you can make of this?" Rebecca asked.

" **One moment,"** EDI replied. **"Data retrieved: The Collectors appear to be running baseline genetic comparisons between their species and humanity."**

Jane furrowed her brows. "For what purpose?"

"Isn't it _obvious_?"

Everyone turned to stare at Javik, who looked around and then gestured to me.

"They seek to replicate _Beast_ ," the Avatar of Vengeance continued. "To finish the work of Kopral Robbidir."

A distinct chill ran down my spine.

"Data translations completed," Mordin said, typing away at the screen with Tallaxis. "Can trace the evolution of the Collectors: Early stages similar to indoctrination. Protheans lost intelligence over multiple cloned generations. Cybernetic augmentation widespread afterward. As Protheans began to fail, Reapers began to use tech to compensate."

"Mordin…" Shepard started, seeing the pained expressions on my and Javik's faces.

"Mental capacity – almost gone," Mordin continued, obliviously, "replaced by overworked sensory input transfers.

My fist clenched as I suddenly smashed my fist through the skull of the Collector corpse in the pod. Black-green biotics wreathed around my arm. "You are right, Professor," I agreed, my biotics fading as I attempted to bring Beast under control. "The Reapers do not need _intelligent_ slaves. They need only platforms, relaying data for their masters."

Javik looked at the pile of discarded humans and then at the control panel. "It is clear that the Reapers intend for the humans to be the Collectors of the next Cycle…"

"Yeah," Jacob said, checking the heat-sink of his shotgun. "Not gonna happen."

"At least while we're still alive," Leng agreed.

"I think we've confirmed that you staying alive is not in the Reaper's plan," Basher said solemnly, his own fists gripping the handle of his war-hammer. Jane reached up a hand and patted the giant krogan on the arm.

"SHEPARD!"

Grunt had apparently gotten bored with the scientific conversation and had scouted ahead. He and Reyna were staring at the main hanger that we had reached. The Pod Chamber was identical to a Prothean World-Ship, except that vessel would have been lined with metal pods, orderly arrayed in rows around the cylindrical chamber. Now, it was littered in a much more organic fashion with the Reapers Bio-Pods, reminding the observing of insect eggs clinging to the wall.

"Mother Above and Father Below," Reyna said breathlessly. "Look at all them…"

"Goddess…"

" _Keelah_."

"Damn."

"How many of them do you think are full?" Garrus asked, afraid of the answer.

"Too many," Thane answered, pain thinly-disguised in his expression and voice.

Pyke Morrell's jaw was agape as he stared at the massive chamber. "They could take every bally human in the Terminus Systems and _still_ not have enough to fill all these _bleedin_ g pods.

"Conclusion," Legion postulated. "Collectors intend on targeting Earth."

"No."

All eyes turned once again to me. I approached the nearest pod, hand outstretched.

"These are _not_ meant for humans. And these are _not_ empty."

Seizing the thin translucent membrane that covered the top, I tore it open, spilling its rancid contents across the floor. A Collector fell limply, hitting the floor of the ship with a dull _splat_.

" _This_ is the Collector Army. They activate the fighters held in stasis in these pods, and replace them with human prisoners."

"Ko'le," Mira said, looking at her Omni-Tool, "There are no signs of life from _any_ of these pods."

" **Confirmed,"** EDI answered. **"It appears they were shut off when the ship lost power."**

"No," Javik answered. "No, there are no _signs_ of life, Commander. The Reapers _give_ them life. They are inert until they are awakened. Invisible to sensors and detection measures until activated by their Masters."

I reached down to pick up the Collector corpse, intending to drag it out of the walkway.

 _WHAT THE_?:

My eyes went white, and a shudder ran through my body, starting at my hand and spreading to the rest of the body.

* * *

 ***50,000 YEARS AGO***

" _FALL BACK! We must give them more time to evacuate those below!"_

 _A Prothean warrior, his armor rent in multiple places and clutching his left arm to his side, leaned against the pillar of the Temple._

" _Lahti! The lower levels are in flames!"_

 _The commander whirls, aghast at the news._

" _NO! The children… the children…"_

" _Taken. They never had a chance."_

" _NOOOOOOOO!"_

" _Brother!"_

" _Brother!"_

* * *

"BROTHER!"

Javik's voice, both physical and Psychically projected, started me out of the stolen memories. I was on the floor, looking up at Mordin running a scan and Shepard looking worried.

"Are you ok?"

I looked over at the Collector corpse.

"I saw…. I saw _his_ memories…"

A pained expression crossed the Avatar's face.

"Ko'le…"

"His name was Lahti…. Merchant, living on Dobra. He had a wife. Children. Taken in the attack on Tanaan."

Javik half-pulled, half dragged me to the side, nodding at Shepard that "he had me." She nodded back, moving forward to place herself at the head of the group that was pressing on. Javik folded his arms around my chest, holding my back against him.

" _We couldn't hold the forward line_ ," I said in a dazed voice, images still flashing in my brain. " _Their sappers tunneled underneath us…_ "

"Brother," he soothed as Mira and Morinth kneeling down to join us. "You were _not_ AT the Battle of Tanaan. Lahti's name will be spoken in the Remembering to Come. We will have a Reckoning for each of them."

"We'll make the bastards _pay_ ," Morinth said, seizing one of my hands in both of hers. I squeezed them almost reflexively, not missing the look that crossed Mira's face at the Ardat Yakshi's gesture. I reached over with my other hand and squeezed the A.I.'s arm.

"Sorry," I apologized gently. "Get me up. I'm fine."

"Easy," Javik said, pulling me to my feet, with Mira and Morinth's help. I took several breaths to try and regain my composure and calm.

"Come on," I said as I flipped my rifle over my shoulder and into my hand. "Let's catch up with the others."

Pyke, Reyna and Kolyat had also stayed behind to provide a rear-guard, the six of us moving through the narrow corridor that threaded from one end of the Great Chamber to the other. We caught up with the others just as Shepard was passing her Omni-Tool over the Collector mainframe.

"EDI, I'm bridging you into the main Collector controls. See if you can locate their IFF beacon."

EDI's golden globe appeared over the computer, establishing the connection.

" **Data-mine in progress."**

"Shepard," I cautioned, "maybe we shouldn't just…"

 _ **BWWUUUUUMMM.**_

With the loud sound that echoed in the expanse of the Great Chamber, several of the pylons around us engaged, locking down the platform we were currently standing _on_ , throwing several of our party off-balance and some of them off their feet entirely.

 _Oh. Shit._

Shepard regained her feet, thanks to the hand offered by Jane.

"What the hell was that?"

" **We just had a major power surge, Commander,"** Joker answered. " **EDI and I were able to divert the majority of the overload to the** _ **Normandy**_ **'s non-critical systems."**

" **Propulsion is still offline, however,"** EDI added. **"And the** _ **Indomitable**_ **is non-responsive. This was not a malfunction, Shepard…."**

"Don't say it…" Shepard almost groaned.

" **This was a trap."**

 _Damn you, Admiral Ackbar, you bastard._

"We need to get out of here," Zaeed growled, taking the words right out of my mouth. "We're exposed out here in the open."

" **I cannot maintain connection,"** EDI said, flickering above the table. **"There is someone else in the system. I am fighting Collector cyber-attacks on 8,000 nodes simultaneously. I am tasked to capacity."**

"Move," Mira said, shoving her way forward to interface with the board. "Hang on, baby, Mom's here to help…"

At the same time, Reyna, Tali and Legion also brought up their Omni-Tools, typing away furiously.

" **Commander!"** EDI called out, panic lacing the A.I.'s words. **"Boarding pods have just been activated across the asteroid field."**

" **She's right, Commander,"** Joker confirmed. " **I count five, six, seven…Hang on…. OH, God….we're being boarded."**

Shepard picked up her rifle. "Everyone! Back to the shuttles! Now!"

At the same time, the platform directly behind us, which we had crossed to get here, disengaged, falling several stories beneath us and trapping us on the small, hundred square-meter octagonal platform.

"FUCK ME."

In the distance, platforms began to rise and float towards us. Giant Scions and Collector units could be seen scurrying about to find cover before they came in range as a giant voice boomed and filled the Great Chamber:

 **"THE FORCES OF THE UNIVERSE BEND TO ME.  
OUR POWER IS UNMATCHED.  
NOTHING STANDS AGAINST US.  
ASSUMING DIRECT CONTROL." **

* * *

***CSV** _ **NORMANDY**_ *****

Have to move.

Have to move.

With propulsion down, Joker's position in the cockpit had become basically moot. The crew and security teams had sprung into action at once, passing out rifles and securing the main points around the ship. Burt Marcus aimed his rifle on the main elevator of the CIC before turning to the _Normandy_ 's pilot.

"Joker! Get out of here! We'll hold them- "

The elevator door opened, and a Pretorian Collector fired its beam at the assembled crew. Burt was flung down the CIC, his body going limp even before it slammed against the bulkhead.

"DAMN!"

"Bring it down! Bring it down!" another voice shouted, her voice bringing order to the panicked crewmen.

" **JEFF."**

"EDI?"

" **Use the maintenance hatches. Get to the AI Core."**

"What? Why?"

" **DO IT. NOW."**

"Ok…"

 _He was just in the way_.

Joker cursed his Vrolick's Syndrome for the ten millionth time in his life as he limped through Mordin's Lab. He paused to collect a pistol that was under one of the examination tables. Jacob had shown him and Mordin that it was there "in case of emergencies."

He figured this counted.

"Admit it, you just want me to crawl through the service ducts, don't you?"

" **I enjoy the sight of humans on their knees."**

"…"

" **That was a joke, Jeff."**

"Ha….ha," Joker snarked, crawling through the narrow service hatch to the floor below. It was oppressively hot, as this _was_ where the _Normandy_ diverted its heat emissions while "cloaked."

He had never been happier to see a door.

" **JEFF, wait!"**

EDI's warning came too late as the door opened directly _into_ a passing group of Collector.

"FUCK!"

Joker brought up the Carnifax pistol, firing point-blank at the husked figure. The head exploded, and the first one went down as Joker stumbled backwards, his leg shooting nine-inch nails into his nervous system.

 _I've probably broken my shin_ , he cursed inwardly, but what he actually said was, "SHIT! SHIT SHIT SHIT!"

The Collector behind the one he shot strode forward, reaching out a hand to grab him…

…to take him.

And got a metal orb to the face. EDI's mobile emitter slammed into his face multiple times, until the giant insectoid figure was prone on the floor, black blood pooling on the floor. Multiple Collectors paused, most of them with at least one crewman in hand. The hardlight emitter came online, and a golden figure of a human woman clad in Prothean armor appeared around it. EDI looked up, and held up a hand.

" **Now I'm going to say this once, you** _ **sons of bitches**_ **…"**

Her avatar changed from gold to a deep, dark, crimson red, and a helmet deployed around her shoulders and over her head. Twin omni-blades deployed from each wrist.

" **GET THE HELL OFF MY SHIP."**

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

" **IT'S A TWAP!"**

 **Hey guys, wanted to give you guys the whole fight on the Collector ship, and the** _ **Normandy**_ **, but didn't get as much of it done as I had hoped. So instead I decided to be evil and post this sneak peek.**

 **So it's shorter than normal, yes, but I promise, I'll make up for it!**

 **Also, a dossier on Srgt.-Major Pyke Morrell has been posted in "Tales from Starlight Station," so go check that out if you haven't already, and give your suggestions for more one-shots you'd like to see from the Beacon's Effect universe!**

 **Stay tuned for the exciting subsequent chapter!** **Beacon's Effect: Awakening** **is fast drawing to a close, and I am excited! Thanks to everybody for your awesome support, reviews, and PMs.**

 **ROCK ON, everybody! You are, each of you, uniquely awesome!**

 **-Tusken1602**

* * *

Review Responses:

Squadpunk 2.0, Tahkaullus01, Elvisfonz23 – I think Mira understood the thinking behind the decision, and Ko'le didn't make the decision alone, either. She just wanted Kevin to have a say in the trio that is Ko'le… I like Kevin, and am really trying to NOT let him get lost in this story, or overshadowed.

Blaze1992 – Tuchanka is not sunshine and rainbows, my friend…

Zeru'Xil – "Statement: You call yourself 'Immortal.' Query: Shall we test that theory?"

Tahkaullus01, SpecterXCove, OBSERVER01, griezz – A Miranda/Jack ship…Maybe? Don't know for sure. Have been intrigued by that ever since ME:3. I mean, they really have more in common than they think…

jackli10345 – Hope I don't disappoint.

Bearmauls, griezz, Pietersielie, Nagato21, BJ Hanssen – It's certainly a tough decision and I don't hold to the idea that one of them is "right" and the other is "wrong." There's an argument to be made for either, and both outcomes are questionable.

tamagat – Well, according to Levi, he can't insert another "Ordained" into Kevin's timeline, so no danger of an SI. As far as a space Godzilla…. Leviathans, maybe? They will not be the background manipulators they are in the 3rd game in my story.

Toothless is best, general-joseph-dickson, redcollector, Guest – Keep on being you, my friends! Keep on! :D

EE-RAH!


	24. Chapter 24: Boarding Party

***CSV _NORMANDY*_**

There was a blur of motion, and a crimson figure rushed forward, seizing the closest Collector by the throat, lifting it high into the air and then slamming it hard against the floor. Hadley, now freed from the vice-grip on his own throat, still had the clarity of mind to grab the Collector's rifle off the floor, using a one-handed grip to cover EDI's murderous advance.

"FUCK 'eM UP, EDI!" he called out in support of the murderous unshackled A.I.

Joker began to try and crawl for the pistol he had dropped. Their barriers would prevent him from doing any real harm, but dammit if he was going to sit here and let EDI do all the work.

And work she did… she _plowed_ through the next three Collectors, decapitating two and skewering the third even as she continued walking forward. Rolston also grabbed for his shotgun that he had dropped on the floor, while the recently-freed Matthews straight-up tackled another Collector, taking it to the floor and finishing it off with his combat knife. EDI dropped the Collector husk she was using as a meat-shield, reaching over to scoop up a heavy pistol someone had dropped on the floor. As she straightened back up….

"EDI! Watch out!"

Joker's warning came a fraction of a second too late as a giant fist smashed into her side, her hardlight-body not having enough time to shift back into a hologram-form. EDI stumbled backwards, trying to draw a bead on the Collector that had managed to close with her.

"GET AWAY FROM HER, YOU DAMNED DIRTY ROACH!"

The Collector stiffened suddenly and then went down, revealing Mess Sergeant Rupert Gardner standing there, his twin sushi knives dripping black blood. He looked down at the Collector, then nodded at EDI.

"You ok?"

"I am still functioning at peak levels," EDI said through gritted teeth. "My destructive capabilities are still at optimum performance."

Hadley, Rolston, and Matthews appeared, weapons in hand. Matthews' eyes went wide as he looked from Gardner to the dead Collector and back again. Rupert smiled mirthlessly.

"What, you didn't think the _Imperator_ hired me _just to cook_ , did you?"

"Gentlemen," EDI interrupted. "Are you ready to take back our ship?"

"Born ready," the pilot answered, wincing through the pain. EDI strode over and knelt over the _Normandy_ 's pilot.

"Your shin and arm are broken, Lt. Moreau," she said gently.

"What are you…?" Joker looked down and suddenly noticed that his right arm was askew.

 _The recoil from the Carnifax_ …

He suddenly felt very stupid and useless.

"I'll seal the door on the room. You'll be safe here."

"No," Joker protested, "I gotta protect my baby…"

EDI smiled and then gently kissed him, full on the lips. She drew back and patted the side of his face.

"I'll be fine, Jeff. But thanks."

Joker looked confused, desperately trying to make sense of what just happened. Thankfully, Hadley's clearing of his throat brought an end to the awkward moment.

"STAY ON MY SIX," EDI ordered, rising and striding to the front of the group. "Let me draw their fire. Target their leaders and anybody that's _glowing_."

"Aim for their heads," Hadley said, "There will mostly likely be friendlies in the line of fire."

The improvised fire-team turned the corner, looking down the hall at the _Normandy_ 's CIC. A woman was being dragged by her hair by one Collector, while an unconscious man was being loaded into a Collector stasis pod.

"GABBY! KEN! HANG ON!" EDI yelled, leaping forward, blade in hand. Rupert hurled a blade into the back of the other Collector, causing him to drop Ken's body to the floor. The ship's cook rolled forward, stabbing his other knife into the gut of the Collector even as he whirled to face the ship's cook. With a gurgling cry, the Collector slumped over, lifeless.

"Get them back to the A.I. Core with Joker," EDI ordered, as Rupert began to sling Ken over his shoulder in a fireman's carry.

"What about you?" asked Matthews, scanning for new targets.

EDI reached over and plucked a Collector Heavy Pulse-Rifle from the back of one of the Fallen.

 **"I HAVE VERMIN TO KILL."**

* * *

 ***COLLECTOR VESSEL*  
FORMERLY THE IMV _RIGHTEOUS FURY_**

"COORDINATE YOUR FIRE!" Zaeed yelled to his fire-team. "Don't let them overheat us all at the same time!"

Shepard, Garrus and Zaeed had taken their squads to cover one side of the octagon, Javik and I had taken the two _Indomitable_ fire-teams to cover the other. Garrus took Jacob, Tali and Samara, and Zaeed had Jack, Kasumi, and Thane. Shepard and Liara had Miranda, Mordin, and Grunt.

Javik on the other hand, had Tallaxis, Kolyat, Reyna, Leng, and Turro. Which left me with Pyke, Jane, Morinth, and Mira. Each of us focused our fire at the enemies directly in front of us, but when the moment was right, we had caught our foes in flanking maneuvers or advanced to catch them in a crossfire!

Have I mentioned how much I _hate_ Scions?

With a massive effort, I Charge forward, slamming into the Scion's chest and sending out back and over the edge of the platform. Bringing my Rifle to bear, I whirled around and fired a blast into the group of Collectors who were turning to face this new threat. Bursting into flame, one of them flailed its arms wildly before following its friend over the side.

"ANYTIME TODAY, MIRA!" I called out to the A.I. typing furiously on the control panel where we had lost contact with EDI.

"Suck a Cock!" came the reply, along with a rude hand gesture. I smiled and launched a shockwave to coordinate with Jack's, clearing an entire corner of enemies.

 **"ENOUGH. TIME TO MAKE AN END."**

A black biotic blast came out of nowhere, blasting me backwards against one of the barricades, hard. From the unique advantage point of being flat on my back, I saw the first pod on the ceiling detach, falling towards us.

"INCOMING!"

The pod crashed into the platform, and a Collector sprang forward, armed and ready.

Well, _not_ ready for the twenty weapons firing point-blank simultaneously at it. I'm pretty sure it liquefied instantly.

"THERE!" Mira called out. "I have control again. Hang onto your asses!"

The platform we were standing on _lifted_ into the air, carrying us back the direction we had come.

"Hack the _platform_ , rather than try and get control of the ship," Shepard said, the surprise of suddenly flying faded away. "Smart."

"Ko'le keeps me around for a reason," Mira answered coyly.

A hand grasped my arm and hauled me up to my feet. Morinth nodded at me as I regained my breath. I squeezed her arm, pulsing _gratitude_ and _optimism_. An orgasmic look crossed the meld-starved Ardat-Yakshi's face for just a moment, but then her expression hardened again, and she checked her pistol's ammo type.

Another pod crashed onto the platform. This time, Basher was swinging his war-hammer even before it could open. The top half of the pod (and the Collector it contained) went flying off the platform. The snipers (Garrus, Thane, Kolyat, Legion, and Shepard) were picking off the enemy units on the platforms that were giving chase. Suddenly, one of the octagonal platforms crashed into our own, spilling Collectors onto the platform.

And knocking me clean off it.

"KO'LE!" Morinth screamed, and she and Reyna dove to try and catch me, but they were _seconds_ too late. Falling through the air, I glanced around me, fighting down the panic caused by the free-fall. Along the side of the chamber, I spotted another access tunnel. Flaring my biotics, I altered the course of my fall to carry me to the edge of the tunnel. I hit the ground with a massive blast to slow my descent, and rolled forward to absorb the shock of my landing. High above me, Mira had managed to dock the platform back where we had first entered the Great Chamber.

 **"Ko'le! ARE YOU THERE? ARE YOU ALRIGHT?"**

Shepard's voice was full of worry and concern. I brought my hand up, activating my Omni-Tool.

"I'm fine! Make for the shuttles! I'll meet you there!

" **Ping us your location, brother,"** Javik called **. "We'll head towards you…"**

"There's no time!" I insisted. "The ships are under attack from boarding parties! We have to get _off_ this ship, and we have to do it NOW! HEAD FOR THE SHUTTLES!"

 **"We will wait for you, _Imperator_ ,"** Mira answered, her voice crisp and professional.

Looking to the left, I where my Rifle had landed after being knocked out of my hands in the fall. It was in several pieces.

 _Shit._

I drew Lieutenant from my back, and in my other hand I charged my Quarian Arc-Pistol. It was lightweight and fired in three-shot bursts that was perfect for draining the barriers and shields of the Collectors.

Which was right when I nearly got skewered.

A Collector stepped _out of the wall_ , spikes extending from each wrist. I blocked one attack with the pistol, the bone-spike skewering the weapon completely.

 _Fuck._

I parried the next two attacks with my sword as an IDEA occurred in the scramble of the synapses that made up OUR brain.

 _This is probably a bad idea._

 _Kevin…these were designed to hack synthetics…_

 _You heard Mordin: The Fallen are more machine now, than man._

 _Star Wars quotes will not make this any more of a good idea, Beast…_

I dodged the wrist-blade of the Collector, then closed with it, clasping a hand to the side of its head. The interface spike inserted into the Collector's throat, and my body was wreathed in biotics as the nanites flooded the Reaper-augmentations.

"Ochedin Valannor!"

 _Why do you always do that?_

 _I have no idea, honestly…_

The Collector's eyes went from their normal dull yellow to a brilliant emerald. I removed my hand, revealing a green hand-print that my biotics had burned into the flesh of the Reaper-controlled husk. Then suddenly there was a piercing _scream_ that came from the Mind-Share:

 _"SENESCHAL!"_

 _That voice… I know it._

The face of my helmsman on the _Yokan_ floated before my mind's eye. And his voice….

"Hambu?"

 _"VENGEANCE!"_

The Collector tore into a run, seizing another Collector as it came around the corner, gun at the ready. With the Collector's arms pinned to its sides, it could not resist while I repeated the procedure. Again the hand seized the Collector's head.

"Suffer me now!"

Again the green biotics burned a hand-print onto the forehead crest of the Collector.

Again from the Void of the Mind-share came an anguished scream of ultimate suffering. I winced at the pain, but did remove my hand until I sensed…. I could sense….

 _Surebu. That was her name._

"SUREBU…. My _name…"_

The Husk That Was Surebu stared for a long time at her hand, then slowly, her gaze followed her arm until she beheld her entire body.

"NOOooo!"

 _Blinding_ pain fired through the Mind-Share. This was not the kind and gentle sharing of burdens and feelings that even Ko'le was used to. This was raw and unfiltered expressions of Despair, given voice in grating, screeching tones:

"WHAT HAVE THEY DONE?" an anguished female voice demanded, "WHAT HAVE THEY MADE US INTO?"

I caught up her rifle were she had dropped it, placing it in her open palm.

"Into a _weapon_ , sister."

"AND WHAT ARE WE NOW?" Hambu's Voice asked despondently, also looking down at the husk that was now his body.

"Both more and less than what you were, comrades," I said gently, "Let us take our Vengeance together and show the Reapers that it takes more than Death to defeat a Prothean..."

Hambu's Husk looked over at Serubu _'s_ , and nodded slowly, a bone-spike extending from its wrist.

 _"Lead on, Seneschal_ …."

The three of us went forward at a biotic run, the two Husks almost _leaking_ the brackish-green biotic power from their joints and eyes. It trailed down their faces, giving all the appearance of tears, burning and searing the Reaper-augmented flesh beneath. Through the Mind-share, I could _feel_ their pain, their anguish. It was constant, irrepressible. I had to distract them, give them a channel through which to funnel and fuel their rage:

 ** _"Stiffen the sinews, summon up the blood,_**

 ** _Disguise fair nature with hard-favored rage;_**

 ** _Then lend the eye a terrible aspect;_**

 ** _Let pry through the portage of the head_**

 ** _Like the brass cannon; let the brow o'erwhelm it_**

 ** _As fearfully as doth a galled rock_**

 ** _Overhang and jutty his confounded base,_**

 ** _Swilled with the wild and wasteful ocean!"_**

 _You have not experienced Shakespeare until you've heard it in the original Prothean…_

It wasn't my best recitation, but it served its purpose: I felt the blinding pain give way to a dark and burning fury. Just in time to run into a group of Collectors, no doubt bound for the upper levels to deal with the _Normandy_ 's boarding party.

"EE-RAH!"

We burst upon the group like a burning wildfire, and they withered and died beneath the heat of our rage. I seized one and held it up against the wall of the corridor.

"AWAKEN! YOUR SENESCHAL SUMMONS YOU!"

The eyes began to change, then suddenly _shifted_ back to their natural yellow.

 **ASSSUMING DIRECT CONTROL.**

 _Kamutan…_

My grip around the husk's throat tightened, and I redoubled my focus, trying to purge the Reaper code from the Collector in my grasp. Instead, I found a BLACK and burning presence in my Mind-Palace…

 **WHAT IS THIS FOLLY, SENESCHAL? DID YOU THINK YOU CAN UNDO _THOUSANDS_ OF YEARS OF MY REDEMPTION AND MY SANCTIFICATION IN A INSTANT? **

**THIS IS THE LESSON EACH OF THE CYCLES FAIL TO UNDERSTAND: THERE IS NOTHING YOU CREATE THAT WE CANNOT TAKE FROM YOU.**

I focused, remembering the endless lessons, secrets, and conversations Levi and I had shared, in that World between Worlds, where time was meaningless:

 _AND THIS….IS THE LESSON I IMPART TO YOU, KAMUTAN…_

THERE. _That_ was what I was looking for… Focusing my energies, I found the voice screaming in agony and like extracting a knife from a wound, pulled it to the forefront of the Mind-Share. Through the pain, I found the Name I sought.

 _Awaken, Ambuye of Trikala!_

 _"SENESCHAL!"_

 **WHAT? WHAT IS THIS?**

Suddenly, Harbinger/Kamutan's sense of smug satisfaction was gone, replaced by a pervasive and overwhelming confusion.

And then blind and stupid FEAR.

 **HOW IS…? THIS IS... IMPOSSIBLE! WE _KILLED_ THE OLD ONES! THERE ARE NONE WHO REMEMBER THEM! **

**_There is nothing you can take that I cannot reclaim! I am the Ordained, and I will have my vengeance!_**

The green glow came once again into the eyes of the Collector Husk, and Ambuye stood, Awakened and thirsting for Vengeance.

"I AM THE SWORD OF THE FIRST MASTERS! AND YOU WILL ALL **YIELD** TO ME!"

Beast's roar echoed in the chamber, and we charged forward, my Awakened tearing apart whatever Collectors I did not reclaim, limb-from-bloody-limb. One by one, I restored unto these shallow and broken husks their names:

 _Otrok._

 _Niewolnik._

 _Schiaco._

 _Daor._

 _Rab._

 _Sklave._

These were my brothers. My sisters. Besides Hambu, I had not met any of them before: Some had been taken centuries before my "birth" on Mars, and some of them long after I was put into hibernation. But one thing united them: PAIN.

Pain and Anger.

Fury and Despair.

They fought like rabid animals, lashing out in reckless abandon at all we came across. Our fury blazed like a dying sun, and all who beheld us withered beneath our blaze.

 _KILL, KILL AND SLAY! A BLACK HARVEST BEFORE WE GO DOWN! EE-RAH!_

Hambu's battle-cry whipped the Awakened around me into a frenzy. It was everything I could do to direct them in a single direction: We had to keep going up.

We encountered a sealed door, but as Hambu's Husk approached it, it unlocked and opend. Hambu looked dejectedly at the floor.

"I am just enough of a monster left for this hell-hole to recognize me as one of them…"

We don't have room for them all.

Go Seneschal.

I will NOT leave you! NOT AGAIN!

The Husk That Was Rab seized my arm and shoved me back down the corridor.

"WE ARE ALREADY DEAD!"

The Awakened shared a _feeling_ amongst the Mind-Share, and I tasted deeply of the despair and resignation as the ten accepted their fate. Hambu turned to face the swarming mass of husks running towards us. Then the ten drew weapons and flared their biotics weakly.

" _REMEMBER US, Lord Seneschal_!" Hambu's Voice echoed in the Mind-Share. " _Not as we are, but as we were! PROMISE ME, Ko'le! PROMISE ME YOU WILL REMEMBER US AS WE WERE! Not as these… broken things that house our minds now, Keeping us from the Father's Well of Souls!"_

"Hambu, I….I…"

I swallowed and looked deep into the emerald pools in the hollow eye-sockets of the body that once was one of MY crew: one of MY soldiers. And I thought of how deeply I had failed. Not only him, but each of the Protheans that had followed Urush and I in the Great Armada.

"I promise," I managed, my heart threatening to burst from my chest. I began to walk away, continuing to speak through the Mind-Share:

 _"I will speak your names in the great Remembering._

 _All shall remember your names, and your deeds will not be forgotten."_

I was running now, tears streaming down my face unabashed.

 _"And this I swear to you: Our people will be free again! I will Take my ships to the Collector Base, and I will awaken the Prothean Army once again, Reborn with terrible fury and Vengeance! I SWEAR IT!"_

 _"EE-RAH!"_

With the ancient battle-cry, one by one, my Awakened vanished in a massive biotic explosion, carving a vast swathe through the horde of husks rushing to stop the _Normandy_ 's party. One by one, they screamed their final words through the Void:

"REMEMBER ME!"

 _I will remember, Surebu._

"REMEMBER ME, SENESCHAL!"

 _Ee-rah, Rab: I will remember…_

"AND ME, SENESCHAL?"

 _Ee-rah, Otrok, my brother._

"AND ME! DO NOT LET ME BE FORGOTTEN, SENESCHAL!"

 _Ee-rah, Daor! EE-RAH!_

 _EE-RAH!_

 _EE-RAH!_

 **" _Mother, your children have been taken from thy bosom.  
Send them unto thy husband, as children unto their Father."_ **

With an anguished scream of unadulterated suffering, Sklave was…gone.

 ** _"Father, more of thy children come to thine embrace: a gift from thy lover, their Mother."_**

The Husk That Was Niewolnik leapt onto the top of a Praetorian, bringing a fist down and detonating his body directly above the monster. And then, he too was gone.

 ** _"Fold them in thy arms, for they have lived lives worthy of this death.  
Lead them unto their rest, or their rebirth, as thou seest fit…."_**

 _"_ EEEEEEERRRRRAAAAAAAHHHHH _!"_

And then Hambu _was gone._ And I was alone once again in my Mind-Palace.

Coming around the corner, I saw a single shuttle slowly taking off.

 _They've been waiting for me…_

"RUN, YOU STUPID MORON!"

 _Yep, there's Mira._

With a choked and anguished cry, I _leapt_ forward towards the open door of the departing shuttle. An arm seized mine and pulled me into the shuttle.

"So mote it be."

Unseen by all but me, a single tear streamed down the face of Javik, the Avatar of Vengeance as he spoke the closing words of the Invocation.

 _He had heard everything._

 _He had FELT everything._

"Shepard?" I asked breathlessly.

"Got away clean," Mira said, kneeling next to me. "They are returning to the _Normandy_ now to secure it against the boarding parties."

"Imperator!" called Turro, pointing a long pin-feather back towards the Collector vessel. "The Ship!"

The _Normandy_ 's Thanix cannon fired, sending a beam of destructive energy directly for the Collector ship, tearing a massive hole in the hull. Looking over my shoulder, I suddenly saw the former Prothean World-Ship's Blink-Drive activate, boosting the massive vessel into disappearing into FTL.

Silence fell, with no indication around us of the massive battle we had just survived.

"Set a course for the _Indomitable_ ," I ordered.

 **"We have only one small problem with that,"** Morinth answered from the pilot's seat of the second _Indomitable_ shuttle.

"What?"

"The _Indomitable_ is gone, Imperator," Kolyat answered in a low, hushed tone.

"WHAT? What do you mean, 'it's gone'?"

 **"As in, 'It's not FUCKING here,' Ko'le…"**

I rushed over to the window. Sure enough, the space beside the _Normandy_ was empty. Looking down at the scanner, there was no sign or trace of the _Arcus-_ class corvette.

NO.

 _" **There is nothing you have that I cannot take."**_

Harbinger's ominous words echoed in my thoughts as I shook my head. There was not time to waste panicking or beating ourselves up.

"Set a course of the Normandy. We'll help secure the ship. We can't afford to lose _both_ ships…"

The Normandy had several Collector boarding pods attached to the hull, looking for all the world like ticks latched to the body of a predator. The hanger bay was still open, however, with its mass effect barriers still intact. We coasted in and set down next to the _Normandy_ 's two shuttles, filling the smaller hanger bay to beyond capacity.

We exited, guns at the ready, me preparing for the worst.

 _How did we not see THIS coming?_

 _We destroyed the Leviathan of Thorne._

 _Karma is a bitch._

"Shepard?" I asked into the radio.

 **"We saw the _Indomitable_ jump to FTL," ** the Spectre answered. **"Ko'le…"**

"Let's get _your_ ship back first, before we plan anything else," I replied. "One problem at a time."

 **"Roger that. Negative contacts so far."**

That would be the tone for the rest of the sweeping of the ship. The hallways, the elevator, and each of the decks were littered with Collector corpses and spattered with black blood. Numbed _Normandy_ crew members could be found sitting or standing at odd corners, staring at the decimation around them.

"Joker!" Shepard said, gripping the crewman's shoulder gently. His arm was in a sling, but he was still managing to help Mess Sergeant Gardner as he was applying Medi-Gel to another downed crew member.

Joker started, but regained his senses quickly.

"Commander! You're back! I…I mean…"

"What the hell _happened_ , Joker?" Zaeed interrupted gruffly.

The _Normandy's_ pilot gestured to the carnage.

"EDI. She saved us all, Commander. None of us would have made it without her."

"You should have seen it, Commander," Rupert said admiringly. "She was… _everywhere and nowhere_ all at the same time. Damn Collectors never knew what hit them."

"Where is she?" Mira asked.

"I think she went to secure Sick Bay," Hadley answered from the other side of the room.

Joker nodded. "Either that or she went to try and re-start the Core. We're still running on emergency power."

"I'm on it, Shepard," Tali said, gesturing for Legion, Reyna and Kasumi to follow her. Garrus followed after them. Mordin, Miranda, and Samara had started to help with the other wounded, as well as Kolyat and Tallaxis.

"Can she still fly?" Shepard asked.

Joker saluted gravely.

"Aye, aye, ma'am. She's shook up, but the _Normandy_ 's still the toughest girl in the galaxy."

"Get to the cockpit," Shepard said. "We'll be getting out of here."

I was already moving away, followed closely by Mira. We made our way down to the 2nd Level. I saw Turro and Pyke over by the gun controls, but didn't pay much attention.

"EDI?" Mira asked, opening the door. "What are you doing? Why didn't you…?"

The shocked gasp that followed prompted me to shove the A.I. out of the way so I could see inside the Sick Bay.

EDI's avatar sat on the ground, atop a pile of corpses, cradling the body of Karin Chakwas. Five Collectors lay dead on the floor, along with the figure of a single quarian: the young medic Lia'Vael vas Ulnay. EDI turned to look at us. Tears streaked her holographic face.

"I wasn't…. I wasn't _fast enough_ , Mom…"

"Oh, _sweetie…"_

Mira moved to wrap her own arms around the younger A.I. There was a sudden stomping of boots behind me, and I moved aside to allow Shepard to see the scene, Jane right behind.

"Karin, are you…?" Shepard began, but her breath caught in her throat, along with her words.

"NO. No, no, no, no, MORDIN!"

She ran to EDI's side, taking the older woman's body from EDI's holographic arms.

"Commander…" EDI began.

"No, you're going to ok, Karin. You have to be… _Oh God_ …."

Mordin came running in, Omni-Scanner already at the ready. He ran the scanner over the _Normandy_ 's doctor, then bent his head sorrowfully.

"Shepard…"

"NO!" Shepard's call was a harsh and guttural cry. She cradled the body, slowly rocking back and forth.

"BECCA!"

Jane's shout brought her sister's gaze up to her own. Jane knelt down beside her sister and took her face in her own hands.

"She's gone…"

Shepard suddenly held her sister in a tight embrace as the sobs began. I stepped outside of the scene just a Liara appeared.

"Ko'le, we should begin a…" Whatever the Shadow Broker had begun to say was cut off when she saw my expression. "oh, _Goddess,_ what is it?"

I could only nod wordlessly towards the Medical door. Liara went through without another word. I sat down at the table when suddenly, the lights came back on, illuminating the gory scene around me.

"Joker?" I said into the ship's com system.

 **"Ko'le?"**

"Set course for the Sahrabarik System. The Collectors have taken our people. Time to go get them back. And send these bastards back to the Hell they came from."

* * *

 ***SOME TIME LATER***

I was sitting in the Port Observation Lounge watching the stars go by. Eighteen coffins lay in front of me, with the Conclave flag over each, with the exception of one on the far left, which had an Alliance flag draped over the fiberglass box.

"You should not have awakened them, Brother."

 _Javik._

I didn't even need to ask who he was talking about.

"I did not know it would work," I answered unfeelingly. "I only knew I was surrounded, and in need of reinforcements. I acted. And then… to hear Hambu's voice again…only to lose them again…"

"I do not deny the strategic value of your decision, Seneschal," Javik replied, "Nor do I make light of your success of reclaiming some of our kinsmen from their fate. I merely point out that their deaths were the optimal solution to the problem."

I looked over to give him a blank stare.

"You cannot do that."

"Do what?" I asked.

"I have fought by your side for how long now?"

I took a deep breath as I mentally calculated the time.

"More than twenty years."

"I know you better than _anyone_ on this ship. And the crew of the _indomitable_ is NOT the only ones you intend on rescuing at the Collector Station."

"You _heard_ them, Javik!" I snapped. "They were _alive_ … free of Reaper influence."

Javik moved to face me, our faces only inches away from each other.

"I DID hear them: their every living moment was torment to them. Their lives had become a living _hell_ : Damaged souls trapped in Reaper-encrusted shells, the memories of countless centuries of torture, mutilation, and indoctrination still in the forefront of their minds. That was a rabid and dangerous _animal_ , Ko'le, not the gentle Hambu we both remember. That is why you should honor your promise: to remember them as they were. Do not force them to re-live their deaths over and over again!"

I drew back, stung by the harshness of my friend's words or the truth of them, I knew not which.

"We could heal them," I countered weakly. "If we were to initiate a Joining…"

Javik's answer was low, his voice shifting to convey gentle firmness.

"Ninety-eight Protheans cannot heal _thousands_ , Seneschal. If we were join with them, their collective anger, fear, despair, and pain would overwhelm us. Even now, the _ten_ Awakened you freed poison your souls _and my own_. We still carry memories that are not ours, pain that we never experienced, rage that blurs our focus and hampers our effectiveness in battle. DO NOT DO THIS, brother."

There was silence for a long time

"Are you going to tell the Commander?"

I looked over at him wordlessly.

"These _primitives_ speak constantly of how 'no one has returned from the Crimson Relay.' You and I know that to be false."

My fists clenched, attempting to drive the memories from my mind.

"I do not…have… _all_ of the memories I once did…" I replied lamely. "Such a long period in stasis has robbed me of many of the finer details… We do not have an IFF anyway," I said by way of excuse. "Without it to limit our FTL drift, we could float several _thousand_ miles to the right or left of the Core Fortress. We'd be torn apart!"

"That…is not _exactly_ true."

Mira walked slowly into the light, activating her own Omni-Tool. A line of code appeared, revealing the Friend or Foe identification protocols the _Normandy_ would need for the journey through the Omega Relay.

"How in the _Father's_ Name did you get that?" I asked.

"Harbinger was distracted with trying to board both the Normandy and the Indomitable," Mira answered. "Coupled with the chaos your Awakened caused him, I was able to break through his focus and plant a tracer-copier in their subroutines that would send me the IFF used whenever they next activated the relay system."

Mira gestured to the line of code.

"The Collector World-Ship activated the Omega Relay less than thirty seconds ago…."

"Mira…" I said slowly. "You're a genius."

"NO," she corrected coyly. "I'm a thief…"

"The Commander has assembled the crew in the briefing room," Javik interrupted. "Now would be the best time to tell them..."

"Tell them what?" Mira asked. When silence answered, she sat down next to me.

"Ko'le… tell them _what?"_ she repeated again.

I took her hand in my own, sighing deeply.

"What I should have told Shepard long ago…"

I slowly rose and strode out of the room, Javik following me close.

The doors of the Briefing Room opened, just as EDI was apparently explaining the position of the Collector Base at the Galactic Core.

"Can't be," Jacob was insisting. "The Core is just black holes and exploding suns. There _are_ no inhabitable planets there!"

"Could be an artificial construction," Mordin countered. "Space station protected by powerful mass effect fields and radiation shields."

"Even the Collectors don't have _that_ kind of technology," Miranda objected.

"Yes, they do."

All eyes turned to look at me.

"I have spoken of this to NO ONE," I continued. "Not to Javik. Not to EDI. Not to Mira. But it is now past-time you all knew the truth…"

You could hear a pin drop in the crowded conference room.

"It is time I told you what happened to the Great Armada of the Prothean Empire."

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

 **Thanks for your patience, everybody. This was an incredibly difficult chapter to write. Maybe it's silly for an author to feel bad when killing off a character. But it's rough. Same thing happened when Kaiden died in BE:1, if some of you remember. Thanks to everybody who have PM'd me asking if I was alright. It was very touching, but I assure you, I'm OK, outside a case of the author's blues. :D**

 **Please leave me your thoughts and your reviews. I really am blessed every time I get an indication that one of you has taken the time to give me your thoughts on the chapter. Even if it's just "Good job."**

 **I realize not everybody is going to like this character's death. I assure you, I don't like it either… I'm no George R.R. Martin. But the goddess of fiction is a fickle mistress.**

 **Next week, we get a bit of a flashback, along with the preparations for the big finale, which will probably take at least a few chapters to get through, not gonna lie.**

 **-Tusken1602**

* * *

Reviewer Responses:

Lord Mortem, Zeru'Xil, Nagato21, redcollector, shugokage – EDI has indeed taken some cues from Dear Old Dad. Hope you all enjoyed the image of EDI fighting to defend HER SHIP, and HER people.

Bearmauls, MrBogus, Asahar4– Imagine seeing the memories of a LIVE Collector. Talk about PTSD….

METALHELLSPWN, AlsoKnownAsMatt- Glad you guys picked up on Joker's arm being broken. :D

Blaze1992 – would have been a good idea, yes. NO doubt.

jackli10345 – It is divulging from the main Universe, and yet mirrors it in other ways. I'm trying not to go FULL AU, just tweaking the one we've got. Glad you enjoy it, though!

Toothless is best – Star Wars puns NEVER piss me off, my friend!

tamagat - I don't plan on Sentinels making an appearance... but who knows for sure?

Elvisfonz23, Guest, BJ Hanssen, SpecterXCove – Thanks everybody! You guys ROCK!

* * *

 **Father take you into his embrace, Karin Chakwas. You have lived a life worthy of your death. Father take you unto His embrace, unto your rest or rebirth, as He sees fit.**

 **Ee-Rah!**


	25. Chapter 25: Fate of the Armada

***50,000 YEARS AGO*  
BLOODLET THRONE SYSTEM  
THE CRIMSON RELAY**

"Standby to come about. All hands to battle stations!"

Magi Dranen Thurn, Avatar of Wisdom, stands on the command bridge, his arms folded behind him. His eyes flick over to me, and he gives me a ghost of a smile. I nod and return the gesture before flicking open the communication channels.

"All Fleets, this is _Command_ , onboard the _Righteous Fury_. Status report, all fleets."

One by one, each of the fleets of the Great Armada of the Prothean Empire make their presence and readiness known:

"Gold Fleet reporting."

"Red Fleet reporting."

"Blue Fleet reporting."

"Black Fleet reporting."

"Rose Fleet reporting."

"Indigo Fleet reporting."

"White Fleet reporting."

Each of the fleets is the last remnants of one of the great houses of the Prothean empire. Scattered across the empire. Starving. Divided. Leaderless.

No more.

"ALL STAND!"

All leap to their feet and face the doorway at the Avatar's cry. In resplendent golden armor, Emperor Urush Robbidir looks out at the massive fleet filling the view-screens. On his shoulder perches Swims-The-Stars, the tiny hanar wrapping its tentacles around Urush's muscular frame. Urush holds out his arm and places the hanar down on the rail in front of him.

"Dranen," the Emperor says with a brilliant smile on his face. "A glorious day, is it not?"

The Avatar of Wisdom merely nods.

"The day is not over yet, my emperor."

"My emperor," I report, stepping forward, " all fleets are reporting in."

"All of them?"

"Seven thousand, five hundred and twelve warships, sir. Five-hundred thousand soldiers, ready to fight and die for their Emperor."

Urush nods. "Open a channel."

The Emperor moves and take his place on the bridge, as his voice is broadcast to each of the ships of the Great Armada:

" **Once we were divided: Imperials and Separatists. Densorin and Ditakur. Enduromi and Vandomar. We warred with one another, and as such, we were unprepared for the Reaper threat. We have, each of us… lost deeply.**

 **But even in the midst of our loss… we have survivied. We have come together. We have been reminded of this fundamental truth: that no one race can survive alone. We are all sons and daughters of the same family: With One Father Below and One Mother above. Souls all on the same celestial journey. A journey, brothers and sisters, of vengeance. A journey that has lead us here, to this place, to this day.**

 **Strike hard. Strike for the memories of our past. Strike for the hope of our future.**

 **Ee-RAH!"**

In answer, one of the largest ships, the _Izumlayat'sya,_ hails the ship. The Emperor nods to me, and I answer. The holographic image of Admiral Izmennik appears on the screen. His right arm and right eye gleam red with the cybernetics implanted to replace what the Fallen's blades had taken from him.

"My lord," he says, taking a knee, "most humbly on one knee, I do beg the leading of the vaward."

The Emperor looks over at me. Izmennik was the leader of House Predateli and the Admiral of the Black Fleet – newest of the forces who had joined us, and thus it makes sense that they are the most eager to prove themselves in battle. I give a barely-imperceptible nod, as does the Magi next to me. The Emperor turns his gaze back to the black-armored admiral:

"Take it, brave Izmennik! Transmitting IFF codes now."

Izmennik grins.

"Thank you, my Emperor. The Black fleet will hold the beachhead while the rest of the fleet arrives."

The Black Fleet moves forward, catching in the arcs of red energy from the Crimson Relay, firing forward into FTL. Urush stands and draws his sword, pointing it towards the relay onscreen.

"Will we be content to sit back and let them win all the glory, brothers?"

The answer is passionate and unanimous:

"NO!"

"Then follow, my warriors! The battle leaves us behind!"

Gold Fleet moves into position, the stars around us blurring and turning into a red-tinged blur of motion. The IFF codes stolen from Fallen ships activate, and are acknowledged by the Relay.

"EE-RAH!"

The short jump comes to an end, and there is… darkness. No glint and glimmer of distant stars. Only the sight of supernovas being swallowed by black holes. And in the distance, there can be seen the specks of the Black Fleet, in formation around the Relay where we are exiting FTL. A chill runs down my spine, and the hairs on the back of my neck stir uncomfortably. We should have come out in the middle of a battle, where the Reapers had been taken by surprise that we had found their capital and staging area for their invasions across the galaxy. Instead… there was…

Nothing.

"Hail the _Izumlayat'sya."_

I obey the Emperor's command. The figure of the Admiral once again appears.

"Emperor."

"Admiral? What is going on? Where is the enemy?"

The red cybernetics of Izmennik flicker for a moment, then turn purple.

" **HERE."**

Suddenly, Reaper ships come out of FTL behind us.

" **LET THE REDEMPTION BEGIN, AND THE ANCIENT ONES FULFILL THEIR GLORIOUS PURPOSE!"**

 _Bastard. He has betrayed us. He was indoctrinated the whole time!_

"Fire!" I order the nearest gunner, trying to rouse my Prothean comrades out of their dazed stupor. "All guns, fire!"

Red tendrils of energy fire forwards towards empty space, only for a Prothean cruiser to appear out of FTL, moments before it is struck.

There is no time to raise shields or to return fire.

 _THIS IS A TRAP._

The battle was lost even before it was begun. We cannot relay a warning to the rest of our ships so long as they are in FTL, and they are being picked off piecemeal. Ships crash into the wreckage of other ships that have not cleared the arrival zone. Those who succeed in pulling away are caught in the gravity wells of the nearby black holes, being slowly pulled into nothingness.

They are the lucky ones.

"Majesty!" Dranen Thurn calls out, gripping the railing as a shot strikes the _Righteous Fury._ "We must retreat!"

"No!" Urush shouts, but his eyes hold only desperation and despair where only minutes before, exaltation and hopeful expectation reigned. "WE MUST FIGHT! DEATH BEFORE RETREAT!"

"Indeed, my lord," Dranen answers in a softer tone. "But not for you."

He raises his Magi's staff and strikes the Emperor on the back of the head, knocking him out cold.

"Ko'le! Take Him!"

With a snarl of fury and anger, I seize the body of my dearest friend, my first friend. My Emperor and my lover. I pull his body toward the escape pod, his feet caught up by his bodyguards, who lend their strength to my own. Swims-The-Stars moves quickly, attaching his tentacles to my arm, holding on tight.

"WHAT ABOUT YOU?"

"We will cover you!"

The door closes, and there is a sudden shudder and a floating motion as the Command Module detaches entirely from the _Righteous Fury_. I hold the form of Urush to my chest. Swims-the-Stars moves to the control panel, typing away furiously.

"They are engaging their Pulse-engines!"

To illustrate his words, he brings up a view-screen. With a massive roar of its engines, The _Righteous Fury_ pulls forwards, ramming the _Izumlayat'sya,_ the larger World-Ship plowing _through_ the _Stavka-_ class warship like tissue paper.

Then we engage the Relay for the return trip, and the horrific scene of the Prothean Armada being torn apart by Reaper tentacles is cut mercifully short.

* * *

 ***CSV** _ **NORMANDY**_ _*_

 **SAHRABARIK SYSTEM**

"By the Goddess…"

Liara's hushed words seem loud in the silence that greets my story. Impassive faces meet my gaze. There was no sign on Javik's face of the pain that seeps from his aura.

"That is likely what awaits us on the other side of the Omega Relay," I said slowly, locking eyes with Shepard. "You deserve to know."

"I agree," Shepard answers, addressing the rest of the room. "Nobody need go through that Relay who isn't committed to this mission. Any who wish to stay behind, we can leave you at Omega. No judgement, and no hard feelings."

There was a moment of silence as we all considered her words.

"There's never been a fight I've backed down from," Jack said, straightening up where she was leaning casually against the wall.

Nods and grunts of approval met her statement.

Tali stood up from her chair. She folded her hands nervously for a moment, then clenched them into fists.

"For Karin."

"FOR KARIN," echoed most of the rest of room's occupants.

Javik stood up from his seat.

"Those are _my_ crewmen in chains onboard the _Indomitable_. I will not abandon them to torture and a fate worse than death."

"Hear, hear, sah," Pyke Morrell echoed, pounding the table, "Certainty of death…small chance for success…. Eternal glory at stake…. What are we waiting for?"

A slight chuckle escaped a few of us at the vorcha's attitude. Shepard even grinned slightly before nodding her approval.

"Joker is finalizing preparations now. The trip should take a few hours. Everybody rest up. I want the _Normandy_ at 100% before we make that jump. Dismissed."

The group stood to their feet and headed out the door, each going their own way. Shepard remained seated, as did I. Miranda looked to her left and right at each of us, then turned and left us alone.

"I'll admit it, Shepard," I said slowly. "I'm impressed. You've done what many people thought impossible."

"We've got a strong team and Prothean's own technology," Rebecca said as confidently as she could manage as she stood to her feet. "We'll get the job done. See you on the other side."

"Shepard?"

She paused at the door, and looked over at me.

"I didn't want you going through the relay blind, Shepard. I'm sorry I didn't tell you before. I was wrong not to tell you."

"We've assembled some of the best fighters in the galaxy with us," she answered, "We'll make it."

"I brought you back for a reason, Shepard," I said. "You are the best damn leader I have ever seen. Far better than me… Regardless of your opinion of me, you _are_ the best hope humanity has for the future."

Shepard clenched her fist, then turned and left the room without another word.

*Rebecca Shepard*

Commander Rebecca Jane Shepard ran a hand through her hair on the elevator ride up to her cabin.

 _Karin._

Of all the people she could have lost, she was hard-pressed to find one she expected _less_ than Karin.

Loosing Kaiden had been tough. But she had lost friends before in battle. Hell, her whole squad on Akuze had gotten _eaten_ alive by those monsters. She had _watched_ a batarian put a knife in-between her dad's ribs, then put a bullet through his skull.

But in the whole time she'd been an Alliance soldier…there'd been Karin. She was the one you came and talked to _after_ the mission. You could get through anything, any fight, knowing that Karin would be there afterwards to lend an ear.

 _Oh God…Karin…_

The door finally opened, and Rebecca stumbled into her cabin. She looked up to see the slender figure of Liara sitting down at the desk. The asari stood when she saw her.

"Shepard…"

The Commander didn't make any reply, just stumbled down the stairs, sitting down on the couch with an exhausted sigh. She heard Liara make her way around and sit down next to her.

"I…I got you something. I was waiting for the right time to give you _this…"_

Shepard felt something being pressed into her hands. She opened her eyes to see a small picture frame. Inside there was her graduation picture from N7. And beside that…

"It took some digging but I recovered your tags," Liara said, hesitantly smiling as she tried to gauge her lover's reaction.

"I thought I'd never see these things again," Rebecca said breathlessly, absent-mindedly running her hand along the well-worn and charred tags:

 _Rebecca J. Shepard.  
5923-AC-2826_

"You can't get back everything you lose," Liara said gently, wrapping an arm around Shepard's shoulders, "but sometimes you get lucky."

There was a moment of silence as Rebecca just stared at her lover's gift.

"They've changed hands more than once," Liara added, more to fill the silence than anything else. "I got them from Admiral Hackett. He says that he's glad you're back and hopes you're doing well."

Rebecca sighed, placing the picture frame on the coffee table in front of them. "It seems forever since I was just an Alliance soldier. First I get tapped for the Spectres, then Ko'le brings me back for his Conclave…."

Liara got down on one knee, turning Shepard's face to look deeply into her eyes.

"You succeed against odds most people wouldn't even take on. It's no wonder everyone wants you on their side."

The tears spilled over and traced their path down Rebecca's cheek.

"And yet every time, another person I love dies. How long until I lose Ash? Or Joker? Or You?"

Liara held her lover close, pulling her into a tight embrace.

"Between you and me," Rebecca continued, softly sobbing in-between sentences, "I have _no idea_ how we're going to do this… I'm doing everything I can but… We are headed towards the relay. I couldn't bear it if I lost you again…"

"Not going to happen," Liara stated, marveling at the rare moment of role-reversal. Here was her lover, her _Commander Shepard_ , being comforted by an asari maiden.

"Goddess. Tell me what to do, _amchara_ ," Liara asked in husky whisper. "Tell me what to say? Tell me what you _want…_ "

A chuckle escaped Shepard, event through the tears.

"I dunno… us married, growing old together? A lot of little blue children running around?"

Liara drew back and slightly slugged her lover in the shoulder.

"You just…say these things…"

She stood and turned away, hoping Rebecca wouldn't see her face flushed or feel her heart racing at the honesty in Shepard's voice.

 _Children…_

A pair of strong arms folded around her from behind. She sank back, resting her crest against the human's shoulder, awash in the feeling of absolute security that she only felt in her arms.

"Say something now…. Something I can hold onto forever, _amchara_."

Shepard moved her hand up, gently massaging _that_ nerve-cluster between the shoulder-blades of all asari.

 _Goddess_ …

Liara's knees went weak and she had to fight melding with her lover _instantly_ as the arousal hit her with the gentle wave of a train-wreck. She might have resisted the urge successfully if her lover's voice hadn't suddenly filled her ears, deep and full of desire:

"I love you, Liara T'Soni. _Embrace Eternity…_ "

* * *

 ***KOLYAT KRIOS***

Kolyat reached over for the spanner. Angry thoughts filled his head:

disappointment in himself for not being able to recognize a trap when he saw one.

Frustration at not being able to save the crew of the _Indomitable_.

Sadness at the loss of Dr. Chakwas. True, Kolyat hadn't known her for long, but in the time he had, she had been there for him in a way no other human had been, except for maybe the Imperator.

And now she was gone to Kalahira's Oceans.

Gone to the deeps.

Just like his mother.

 _Then_ he heard it.

Well, it was the fact that he actually _didn't_ hear it that let him know who it was that was suddenly at his feet.

"We have nothing more to say to each other."

Thane Krios simply responded in that _infuriatingly_ even tone that he _always_ did:

"You are angry that I wasn't there when your mother died."

"No."

"No?"

 _THAT surprise you, you bastard?_

Kolyat grabbed the frame of the shuttle and rolled out from underneath so he could stare his father in the eyes. So his father could _see_ the anger in his expressions.

"I am angry that you weren't there when she was _alive_.

I am angry that the only reason you've showed back up on my life is so you could appease your conscience and die in peace!"

"I came to grant _you_ peace."

"And _ANOTHER…_ Wh-Wha-What?"

Thane glanced down at the floor, mourning and sadness in every aspect of his body language and his words.

"Your mother…. They killed her to get to me… it was my fault."

"What?"

"I… After the body was given to the deep… I… I went…"

"You went after the triggermen," Kolyat said, putting the pieces of his childhood together for the first time in his life. "The ringleaders..."

"Yes," Thane confirmed, nodding his head. "I hurt them. Eventually killed them. When I went back to see you, you were—older. I should have stayed with you."

The familiar anger flared up again.

"I've done just _fine_ for myself without you."

"I know… I'm extremely proud of you. That is what frightened me the most."

"Wait….what?"

Kolyat was really starting to get tired of hearing his voice say that…

"You have done well," his father repeated. "You have _prospered_. You have kept to the way of the Pantheon. You have done well…without me. That just confirms the true depth of my failure. I should have been there for you, but you overcame your adversities anyway."

Kolyat stared at Thane wordlessly. Silence hung in the world between father and son.

"Kolyat, I've taken many bad things out of the world. You're the only good thing I ever added to it. Our problems – they aren't something I can fix with a few words. If Amonkira smiles upon us, and we survive the battle to come, I would like to continue our talk. See what happens."

Kolyat _barely_ managed to nod.

"Amonkira willing," he croaked.

Thane reached out awkwardly, placing a hand on his son's shoulder: the boy he had left had become a man. What's more, he had become a warrior in his own right, rather than the priest he had hoped for when Kolyat was an infant.

He turned slowly, leaving his son alone in the shuttle-bay.

And that was where Reyna found him only a few minutes later, sitting against the shuttle, hot tears of loss and sorrow pouring down his face.

She ran to him, wrapping her arms around her shoulders. No words were spoken as she pressed her lips unto his own. He grabbed her, pressing her to him with a deep _longing_.

The nearby shuttle was empty, private, and… convenient.

* * *

 ***GARRUS VAKARIAN** *

Garrus opened another bottle of turian brandy. The Port Observation deck was usually a quiet place, good for relaxation and reflection. Now, Zaeed and Javik were arguing small-squad tactics, using empty beer bottles to simulate formations and group movements.

It was good for the squad to get out of their own heads. Losing the _Indomitable_ and the medical team had hit everyone hard. Garrus saw Kelly Chambers sitting next to Jacob Taylor, looking _very_ friendly indeed.

"When faced with an entrenched enemy, a head-on attack is madness!" the Prothean general was saying. "An entrenched enemy is a stationary enemy: one who can be out-flanked and surrounded at will."

"Unless that's exactly what the _gooks_ WANT you to think," Zaeed countered. "If it's too quiet on the front lines, the enemy will get suspicious. Send flanking guards to overwhelm your own. But if you send in a diversionary attack _first_ ," he said, shoving the bottles forward, "then the bastards think they've got the upper hand."

"I concur with Mr. Massani," Pyke Morrel was saying, knife in hand to point out the various positions on the table. "Especially if you feign a retreat from the head-on attack and potentially get the blighters to leave their defenses in what they _think_ is a mop-up operation."

"Too risky," Jacob Taylor said, shoving the bottles back again with a gentle _push_ from his biotics. "You risk your feigned retreat turning into an actual panic. Get half your men killed needlessly."

The arguments had gone on for the better part of the hour, ranging from talking about tactics to favorite guns. Garrus looked over at the other couch. Kasumi, Kai Leng, and Tali had been sitting there together, but now it was just the quarian sitting alone.

 _Damn_ , _I hate cloaking devices_ , Garrus thought, annoyed. _I wonder if… no, it couldn't be…_

Before he could speculate further on the Japanese woman's sexual proclivities, the door opened and… _Jane_ walked into the room.

 _Gotta stop seeing Shepard everywhere she goes_. _I mean, it makes sense, being her clone and all_ , _but the two are_ very _different, Garrus._

Jane saw the turian behind the bar and came over, smiling.

"Hey there," she said, smiling. "Are you new here? Or did you find something behind the bar to calibrate?"

Garrus chuckled, and reached back until he found the bottle he was looking forward. He poured it into a glass and handed it to the human woman.

"Earth Whiskey," Jane said, clearly impressed. "How'd ya know?"

"For all your differences, you two have more in common than just your looks," Garrus said simply. "Where's Turro? He said he was coming."

"Meditating," Jane said, rolling her eyes. "In the Starboard Observation Deck with Morinth and Samara."

"Spirits, that has to be awkward."

Jane nodded before pouring herself another drink. "You're telling me. You seen Jack? She said to meet her here."

"She was," Garrus shrugged, "Got a message from Miranda asking if she could 'report to her cabin' about half-an-hour ago. Haven't seen her since."

Jane actually grimaced. "Oh _jeez_ , what do you think the odds are that those two finally had it out and one of them is dead?"

Garrus reached for a towel and began carefully wiping the copious number of used tumblers clean.

"Well, considering the _distinct_ lack of hull breaches and warped bulkheads, I think the odds of that are pretty slim. The odds of them solving the tension between them in _another_ way, however….?"

He left the statement open as he gave Jane a knowing look.

It took her about three seconds to get what he was talking about.

"What? That's crazy!"

Garrus gave her a turian grin.

"I dunno, I've seen it in turian units all the time… females challenging one another, threatening one another. The pheromones get positively intoxicating. Before big missions like this, turian commando ships practically turn into either a bar-room brawl or an orgy."

"Oh _god_ ," Jane said, rolling her eyes, "Typical _male_ , Vakarian. Two women disappear into the same room, and you draw all the wrong conclusions."

"What I'm drawing in my head, Miss Jane, is no business of yours…"

Jane smiled before pouring herself yet another finger of whiskey. "So, what do you do before missions?" she asked, arching an eyebrow at him. "The brawl or the orgy?"

She picked up her drink and downed it in a single gulp, never breaking eye contact.

Garrus suddenly found it difficult to swallow all of the sudden.

"That… depends." He said slowly.

"Oh? On what?"

Garrus filled another shot glass and downs the turian liquor in a single gulp.

"The _company_ …"

Suddenly there was a deafening crash from the nearby couch as Tali stumbled over the coffee table, sending glasses and empty bottles everywhere. Kelly Chambers scrambled to help the fallen quarian, as did Jane and Garrus.

* * *

 _Dear Ashley,_

 _We are preparing to jump through the Omega Relay. This will be the second time I have made this journey. The first time, we were betrayed, and half a million Protheans died within a few minutes. I do not know what is in store for me a second time, but it feels somehow that I am tempting fate, returning to the place I should have died…_

 _I wish I could see you; look you in the eye and say all these things. But Fate, it seems, has been set against the two of us. I am sorry. I have focused so much on creating the Conclave, on trying to save the galaxy, that I thought my happiness was a small price to pay for success._

 _I never took into account you own happiness._

 _If what we hope comes to pass, and the Normandy's mission is successful, I fully intend on making good on my promise of making it back to you, and finding a quiet beach where we can sit, and there will be no more secrets between us._

 _But you know better than most that the best-laid plans do not survive first contact with the enemy._

 _If the worst should happen, and the Normandy is lost again, you will be the one the galaxy will turn to fill Shepard's shoes. I'd be surprised if you haven't seen Udina already. He's probably hinted that "humanity still needs you, Lieutenant Commander." It won't be fair, being in the Skipper's shadow. But if anyone can do it, I know you can. You have a great heart, and a noble passion, my Ashley. Forged in the heat of battle, it will be a formidable weapon in the days to come._

 _You have the ability and the charisma to rally soldiers to follow you. Freedom's Progress is proof enough for that. Speaking of, that Vega seems like a solid guy. Keep him close. Good soldiers will soon be worth their weight in gold._

 _I must also plan for the possibility that the ship will return without the Imperator. If that is the case, stay close to Shepard. She will need her old friends and crew around her: people she can trust and count on. I confess that in the two years we've been…apart, I am almost a stranger to Shepard. Perhaps the fault is mine: As you know, I tend to hold my cards close to my chest. The result of that is that few people see past the armor and office of Imperator of the Conclave._

 _Except you._

 _When I awoke in the coffin on Therum, I truly did not think I could ever be happy again. I had thought myself doomed to an existence of solitude, alone with the ghosts and memories of my past._

 _You have proved me wrong. And I thank the Mother Above and Father Below that you came into my life, Ashley Williams._

 _Cannon to right of them,_

 _Cannon to left of them,_

 _Cannon in front of them_

 _Volleyed and thundered;_

 _Stormed at with shot and shell,_

 _Boldly they rode and well,_

 _Into the jaws of Death,_

 _Into the mouth of hell_

 _Rode the six hundred._

 _Until we meet again, in this life or the next, to you I will always be_

 _Neither Imperator_

 _Nor Seneschal,_

 _But merely,_

 _Ko'le_

 _The Boy Who Lived._

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

 **Sorry this is late, everybody! Real life decided to have the nerve to interfere with my writing process (the bastard). :P But hopefully we'll get back to a regular schedule soon!**

 **I just wanted to take a quick snapshot, if you will, of the squad's attitudes and spirits going into the Omega-4 Relay. This time we have Liara going with us, and we're going in guns blazing!**

 **Who will survive? More importantly, who will NOT?**

 **Tune in next time! *evil laugh***  
 **In the meantime, if you're interested in Skyrim fanfiction, you can take a look at my newest fic The Wolf Queen Awakened. I'd love you guys' thoughts and input on that fic and what you'd like to see there!**

 **You guys ROCK!**

* * *

Reviewer Responses:

LITERALLY EVERYONE: Yes, Karin Chakwas was beloved, and wasn't supposed to die. That is exactly why she did. This is no longer the in-game storyline, and Kevin/Beast/Ko'le take it as another nail in the coffin of their understanding of both the past and the future. Ko'le thinks that his knowledge of the past can save this cycle. Kevin is equally confident in his knowledge of the future. Beast is just ready to kill things NOW, and couldn't care less about either of the other two. But foreknowledge of an event does not mean that event is predestined, and history, while cyclical, does not always repeat itself exactly. And there is always a foe who you WILL not be able to defeat alone. That's why you bring friends along…

More specific Queries/statements:

StrawHatLuffy94 – The _Indomitable_ was also boarded by the Collectors, only there was no EDI to save that ship. So it's been taken by the Collectors.

Ericmc02304 – I also think Javik is way too one-dimensional in the games. He is the LAST survivor, for Father's sake. But how would it be if he was suddenly responsible for others, as he was before? The Protheans didn't _suddenly_ die overnight, and their culture was rich and alive. That's what I'm hoping people take away from my fic (among other things).

METALHELLSPWN, Tahkaullus01, OBSERVER01, spiral83 - Yeah, the Awakened Collectors, while being an obvious bone to throw to FPS-game lovers in the Multi-player aspect of ME:3, fascinated me from a story standpoint (particularly how somebody like Javik would react to them). It'd be like an alien showing you a room full of zombies and saying, "See? They're humans JUST LIKE YOU!"

RakSandman – Didn't put a Samara/Morinth bit, but I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Trust me, we're not done with the Mother/Daughter team. :P

Bearmauls,Nagato21,Blaze1992, Deathknight999, Toothless is best, BrotherCaptainSheperd, Squadpunk 2.0, Elvisfonz23, Pietersielie, SpecterXCove, tamagat, KyuubiNodachi, BJ Hanssen, jackli10345, Guest, You Bastard, general-joseph-dickson, Katkiller-V, redcollector, Zeru'Xil, Dragons guard – EE-RAH, my friends!


	26. Chapter 26: Making the Jump

***OMEGA-4 RELAY*  
SAHRABARIK SYSTEM **

_There it was: The Omega 4 Relay._

Even compared to the Alpha Relay, the Omega-4 Relay was a giant beast of a thing. In all the thousands of years, ever since its first discovery by the asari, all had seen fit to give the massive relay a wide berth. Its red coloration, as well as its unusual size, had been the topic of speculation and scientific study for millennia. Of course, the fact that the relay grabbed nearby ships and hurled them into black holes at the center of the galaxy seemed to discourage any up-close scientific study.

Now, as the _Normandy_ drew closer and closer, it seemed to loom ominously, commanding the entire region of space. Many centuries ago, the krogan and the asari had _towed_ a second (more traditional) inactive relay into the system, in order to open Omega up as a trading center for the Terminus System, a feat that had taken nearly a _trillion_ of today's credits to achieve, as well as the entire _Battle-fleet_ of the Krogan Emperor. Then, its transportation and activation had been considered the peak of mass relay research, before the era of the Krogan Rebellions set the galaxy back another three centuries.

 _How many of us would be coming back, I wonder?_

"Approaching Omega-4 Relay," Joker reported, easing the ship within the relay's Jump-Zone. "Everyone stand by..."

Shepard glanced over at me from the other side of the pilot's chair. I glanced over at Morinth in the co-pilot's chair, then nodded back at the Commander.

"Let's make it happen," she said, confidence in her voice.

EDI's avatar came online, with her in her battle armor. She saluted the Commander.

 **"COMMANDER, COLLECTOR IFF ACTIVATED."**

The red tendrils of energy made contact with the ship, our speed increasing as each one sling-shot the vessel further and further along, faster and faster.

 **"SIGNAL ACKNOWLEDGED."**

 _Oh, good. That means the Relay won't tear us in half IMMEDIATELY, anyways…._

With a terrific _whoosh_ and the blue of red light where blue usually was, the Omega-4 relay sling-shot into Faster than Light Travel, or FTL.

 **"Commander!"** Jacob's voice called out over the ship's intercom, **"The drive core just lit up like a Christmas tree…"**

 **"Warning,"** Legion's voice added, " **The drive core electrical charge is at critical levels**."

"I'm _rerouting_ …." Tali answered impatiently. The excess charge seemed to bleed off _some_ as the quarian worked her techno-magic.

Ko'le's memories counted down the length of the trip compared the _last_ time through this way.

 _And Three… Two… One._

"Brace for deceleration!" I called out. "PREPARE to pull up!"

Just as quickly as we had entered, we exited FTL. Just like in the game, ship fragments _loomed_ just ahead.

"SHIT!" Morinth shouted.

"PULL UP!" Joker answered. "COME ON, BABY, PULL UP!"

With a stomach-wrenching twist that even the inertial dampeners could not account for, the ship pulled up _just_ in time, avoiding a quick end to our mission.

 _"_ Whew," Shepard exhaled, "That was too close. Well done, Joker."

The pilot made no answer, instead looking out at the twisted wreckage that made up the extensive debris field before us.

"These ships…" he said slowly.

"Behold what remains of the Prothean Great Armada, my friends," I answered. "Behold the dashing of our hopes, and the end of our war."

Everyone remained silent as we drifted slowly through the field.

 **"Commander, Father,"** EDI called out, turning to me. **"I have detected an installation at the edge of the accretion disk."**

"That would be their Base," I confirmed, taking a look at the tactical scans. "Run another sweep of the debris field between there and here. I imagine there are some hidden surprises for anyone lucky enough to survive the jump."

Sure enough, the moment EDI scanned the nearby asteroids, small red dots detached from their hiding places in the asteroid and debris field, their stealth now rendered meaningless.

 **"Careful Jeff,"** EDI warned, " **We have company."**

Thin red beams began streaming towards the _Normandy_ as the Oculi opened fire. Joker cursed as one of them made contact with our barriers.

"OK, now they're just pissing me off!"

"Oculus fighters," Javik confirmed gravely. "They will fan out in an attempt to overwhelm your ship's defenses."

"Well, then it's a good thing we upgraded," Shepard smiled. "EDI, take these bastards out!"

 **"Activating anti-fighter batteries. Turrets activated."**

"All batteries," I called out, turning to face the two rows of seated crewmen. "OPEN FIRE!"

From the sides of the Silaris Heavy Ablative Armor installed on the _Normandy_ SR-2, small turrets deployed in rows. Each of the sixteen turrets could either be controlled by EDI, or diverted to manual control by a crewmember. And there was no shortage of people willing to shoot some Reapers… Within seconds, the _Normandy_ was transformed from a single solitary frigate to a floating Flying Fortress. A deadly cross-fire of turret fire crisscrossed through the vacuum of space, forming a labyrinth too deadly even for the Oculi.

"FUCK 'EM UP!" Joker called out as the Oculi were torn apart by our fire.

"Don't celebrate too early, Joker," Shepard cautioned. "Looks like they're sending out an old friend to greet us."

Sure enough, coughed from the depths of the base, like some undead thing emerging from the depths of Tartarus, came the Collector's World-Ship: the twisted, distorted remains of the _Righteous Fury._

"Time to show off the new teeth," Shepard grinned, "FIRE THE MAIN GUN!"

 **"Aye-aye, Commander,"** Garrus' grin could almost be _seen_ through the ship's intercom. **"Firing solution in… Five… four… three…. two… one… Firing!"**

The belly of the _Normandy_ seemed to open and belch forth blue fire, like a vengeful dragon. The Collectors' own gun was still charging, but the blue beam struck the focusing dish on the edge of the main cannon. Multiple explosions rocked the side of the World-Ship in a series of chain-reactions as the stored energy of their Pulse Cannon now had nowhere to go…but OUT.

"How do you like THAT, you sons of bitches?!" Joker howled as the _Normandy_ drew closer to the enemy ship.

"JOKER!" I called out in warning, "Sheer off! She's gonna blow!"

My words came moments too late. In a blinding flash of light, the remains of the _Righteous Fury_ detonated, sending the smaller frigate into a dizzying tailspin, caught in the shock-wave of the explosion.

"Mass effect generators are offline!" Morinth reported through gritted teeth as we continued our spiral decent towards the Collector Base.

"EDI, give me SOMETHING!" Joker called out, panic at _just_ the edge of his voice. "ANYTHING!"

 **"Mass effect generators are non-responsive,"** EDI replied evenly. **"All-hands, BRACE FOR IMPACT."**

Somehow, just before we careened into the side of the massive base, the ship straightened, coming down in a slow arc, rather than the deadly spin. With a _screech_ and a horrible grinding noise, the _Normandy_ made contact, throwing everyone who wasn't strapped down in a seat to the floor. For what seemed an eternity, the unearthly grinding sound of metal-on-metal scraping against one another continued, until, suddenly, and with a final _lurch_ , all was quiet and still.

"REPORT?" I called out.

"Simon's arm is broken, _Imperator_ ," a nearby crew member reported.

"I'll be fine, sir," the crewman waved dismissively. "Some Medi-gel and a sling, I'll be right as rain."

I nodded.

"Anybody else?" Shepard asked. "EDI? Everybody ok?"

 **"Only minor injuries reported, Commander,"** EDI responded. **"No casualties."**

"Thank the Goddess for small blessings," Morinth groaned, straightening up.

"All squad members, report to the Briefing Room," Shepard called out over the intercom. "The easy part of this mission is over."

 ***SOME TIME LATER** *  
 ** _CSV NORMANDY_**

"EDI, how long can we stay here?" Shepard asked, pacing back and forth in the crowded briefing room.

"Unknown, Shepard," EDI reported from the central projector, now in her blue orb state. "I have not detected any internal sensor network in this installation, Commander."

Ha, Javik guffawed, folding his arms. "The arrogance of our enemy is revealed, Commander, as is their weakness."

"They never expected anyone to make it this far," I explained to the confused glances being exchanged.

"Big _fuckin'_ mistake," Zaeed grunted, with the rest of the room chuckling of amusement at his assessment.

Shepard looked around the room, then leaned against the table.

"This isn't how we planned for this mission, but we came here to destroy the Collectors. WE can't start thinking about how we get home. We focus on one thing, and one thing only: _getting the job done here_."

Grim nods and a grimmer silence followed her words.

"EDI bring up your scans."

A tactical outlay of the Collector Base came online.

"We should be able overload their critical systems," Miranda explained, stepping forward. "If we can get to the main control center, here."

A red dot appeared near the very core of the station.

"That means going through the heart of the station," Jacob observed mirthlessly. "Right past this massive energy signature."

"That's the main chamber, there," I mused. "IF the _Indomitable_ 's crew is anywhere, they'll be there."

"There will be two main routes," Shepard said, a red line and a blue line appearing on the scan, "We can split up and keep the Collectors guessing."

"NO good," Javik pointed out on the map. "They're both sealed off. We'd need somebody on the inside."

"Here!" Liara exclaimed, tracing a third path on the hologram with her finger. "We can send someone through the ventilation shaft, here."

Tali shook her head. "It's going to get _hot_ in there, and fast."

"Oh, _gee_ , if only we had a specialized thief on our team whose suit is designed for that very thing!"

All eyes turned at Kasumi's sarcasm to see her apparently listening intently to her Omni-Tool.

"What's that?" the kleptomaniac asked her device, gasping in mock surprise. "We _do?_ "

Shepard grinned, despite herself.

"Kasumi, you're up."

Kasumi nodded, saluting with a single finger.

"I won't let you down, Shep."

I stepped forward.

"My team will provide the other squad for the diversionary route," I volunteered. "I have a feeling our Prothean signatures will provide more than sufficient a distraction for your infiltration team."

Shepard nodded, then turned back to the table.

"I don't know what we're going to find in there, But I won't lie to you: we are in for the toughest fight of our lives. We've lost good people. We may lose more: we don't know how many the Collectors have stolen OR killed: hundreds; Thousands. What's important is this: NOT ONE MORE."

Fingers tightened on weapons, and biotics began to flare around the adepts amongst us.

"They want to know what we're capable of? They want to test our strength and the measure of this cycle's resolve? Let's show these bastards who they're fucking with!"

"Form up by your squads," I called out as the room began to empty. " _Indomitable_ , we move out in Five."

I rejoined my team outside the _Normandy_ , taking my first steps on the Collector Base. It looked like rock beneath our feet, but the ground _gave_ , almost like a sponge. I took a look around at these heroes I had gathered around me.

Mira, the Citadel AI-turned-thief I had rescued from death and self-destruction.

Pyke, the loyal vorcha Sergeant-Major, stepped right off the pages of a novel of the British Empire.

Tallaxis, the loyal hanar, determined to do his part in the defense of his people.

Morinth, the deadly Ardat-Yakshi, pledged to turn her considerable destructive talents to my will.

Reyna, the young Thorian Seedling, saved from her father's death on Zhu's Hope.

Kolyat, the young drell who has overcome hatred and anger to become a proficient warrior of his own right.

Turro, the Raloian High Seeker, sent out by his people to explore this galaxy. Now here of his own free will, to fight alongside his friends.

Kai Leng, Cerberus assassin, given life beyond the one-dimensional villain status granted to him by the in-game universe.

Jane Shepard, the clone, given purpose and a duty for her own existence.

Basher, noble, kind-hearted krogan, wielding a War-hammer it would take _two_ of his kinsmen to lift.

And Javik. My Brother, arise from the grave just as I was: Vengeance given corporeal form.

These were the heroes I had gathered in my time here. It was for _this_ reason I came into this Universe. THIS is what set me apart from the game Universe. I had founded an army, and gathered heroes unto my banner.

"My friends…" I began. They paused in their various tasks to turn to me. In their gazes, I saw no distrust. No blame for the stranger who had led them into what was surely death for more than a few of us.

 _I have brought them all here to die._

 _TO die, that Shepard might live._

I shook the sudden chilling, fatalistic thought from my mind.

Whatever speech I had been mentally preparing stuck in my throat. I swallowed hard and tried again, to no avail.

" _Father and Mother_ be with us today," I finally managed. "I am proud to have fought alongside each of you."

"EE-Rah," Javik answered simply.

 _Ee-Rah: "Remember."_

 _Brave warriors are never forgotten, Kevin._

 _I'm sure of that, Ko'le. But sometimes they don't live long enough to be remembered…_

We set out at a brisk jog, looking over just up and to the right of us to see the _Normandy_ squad setting off.

"ABOVE!"

Turro's warning was followed with his Bolt-caster firing, sending a purple beam upwards to knock a winged Collector out of the sky.

 _Let The Battle Be Joined!_

Beast's exultant roar escaped my lips as I brought my Rifle to bear, blazing away at the targets as they showed themselves. With eleven different gunmen, the Collectors who attempted to bar our way were swept aside quickly.

Here, Reyna armed and slung twin tech-mines, the Incinerate charges detonating mid-air, raining fire down on airborne and grounded targets alike.

There, Kolyat's modified Widow rifle took out three Husks in a single shot, the zombie-like human figures toppling over limply.

And there, Pyke deployed both bayonets on his Hornet SMGs, impaling one Collector and using the dead corpse as a meat-shield as he advanced from cover to cover.

Over the radio, I heard Kasumi arrive at, and pass through, each of the seven heat exchange points in the ventilation shaft. Our plan seemed to have worked for the moment: The _Normandy_ crew was encountering much less resistance than we were, it seemed.

"MIRALA! Singularity!" Jane called out, green laser-pointer marking the choke-point ahead. The Ardat-Yakshi snarled, hurling a biotic orb forward, the azure blossom plucking our foes from cover, leaving them flailing helplessly midair. I rolled forward, focusing my own biotics, simultaneously with Tallaxis into a thin stream of warpfire to detonate the singularity, scattering the enemies in front of us.

 **"I don't want to complain, but it's getting hot in here, Shep!"**

 _Kasumi. She must be at the eight exchange now… the last one._

 **"Shep…ard… hurry…."**

"Vent the pipes, goddammit!" Kai Leng shouted over the radio, his usual calm demeanor broken. "Now!"

"Leng!" I called out. "KEEP IT TOGETHER! Press on!"

Javik and I locked eyes and nodded. Both of us initiated biotic charges, along with Morinth. Those units unfortunate enough to be between us and the door soon served to repaint those doors with their blood.

"Look out! Seeker Swarms!"

Sure enough, a black mist could be seen heading in our direction. I opened the doors and waved my crew in.

"OPEN FIRE!" I called out. "Morinth, Javik, Barrier!"

The asari and the Prothean grunted, both them sending a biotic wall in front of the open door to cover the

"We're in position," Shepard's voice came over the radio. "We need this door open. NOW!"

I looked over to see the door on the other, locked shut.

 _Shit!_

I tapped Mira on the shoulder, pointing her towards the other set of doors.

"Go! We'll cover you!"

The Prophet of the New Geth raced over to the other console, fingers working in blazing speed.

"Something's wrong, the door is stuck!"

"FUCK!"

"NO, wait…Got it!"

The door flew open, and the _Normandy_ squad poured in. Kasumi and Miranda were both supported by another crewmate's shoulder, I noticed.

"Suppressing FIRE!" Javik called out. "KILL ALL WHO APPROACH!"

Our group blazed away in an unholy storm of bullets, causing the Collector's countercharge to melt like wax in a blowtorch before _both_ sets of doors slammed shut.

"Cutting it a _little_ close, eh, Shepard?" I asked, and got a middle finger raised in my direction in reply. Leng was already on his hands and knees next to Kasumi, checking for her pulse.

"How is she?" grunted Miranda, wincing at the bullet wound in her side.

"Never mind her, princess, how are _you?_ " Jack asked. "What the _hell_ were you thinking, using your biotics to break the pipe like that?! Left you totally open!"

"I had to…get her…"

"Shut up and let me apply this Medi-Gel."

"She was unconscious when we got her out of the pipe," Shepard said slowly. "Mordin?"

"Miss Goto will be fine, Commander," the professor reported. "Miss Lawson, as well."

"SHEPARD! KO'LE!"

Jacob's yell brought us to the edge of the nearby ledge. Beneath us, locked down in the docking clamps, and already half-dismantled, was the remains of the _Indomitable_.

"So much for flying _her_ home," Pyke observed mournfully.

"But the crew? Where is the crew?" Turro asked, peering into the depths beneath us.

 _Pods_.

Kevin's memories of a liquefied Lilith from Horizon caused me whirl, suddenly noticing the pods arrayed along the wall for the first time. Half of them were already empty, black liquid staining the inside of the quasi-glass covering.

"THE PODS! BREAK OPEN THE PODS!" I yelled, leaping forward, Omni-Blade in hand. I punched through the lid of the first pod, seizing the flexible membrane-like organic structure and peeling it back. Inside was the half-dissolved face of a woman in a Conclave uniform.

 _FUCK._

Glancing over, I saw several of the other pulling humans from the ten or twelve pods that remained on the wall.

 _Forty crewmen had been on the Indomitable._

 _Eleven remain alive._

 _Damn._

One of the Conclave troopers was gasping for breath as Mordin was injecting _something_ into his neck.

"Report, Trooper," I said slowly, but firmly.

"S-S…Sir," the human managed. "We were… overrun. Paralyzed… had no chance."

"What happened to the rest of your crewmates?" Javik interrupted.

Unmasked horror filled the expression of the former captive.

"M-M-m-melted, sir. Turned in _fucking_ glue and sucked up…up the pipes."

The crewman's demeanor broke, and tears began to pour down his face as ragged sobs escaped his frame.

 _"Thank you,_ sir… thank you for coming for us…"

"They're in shock, Ko'le," Mordin said in a sorrowful voice. "Likely from the trauma experienced in captivity."

"These crewmen are in no shape to fight, Imperator," Javik stated matter-of-factly. "Kasumi and Ms. Lawson will only slow us down as well."

"He's right, Shepard," I agreed. "We should send the wounded back to the _Normandy_."

Shepard pursed her lip thoughtfully.

"I don't want to leave them here to make their own way. First sign of trouble, they'd never make it."

"I could accompany, Shepard," Mordin volunteered. "Provide medical attention to all who required."

"You're the best field-medic we've got, Professor," I objected. I turned to the Thorian in my squad.

"Reyna, you accompany the _Indy_ crewmen back to the _Normandy_ , along with Kasumi and Miranda. Kolyat, you're with her."

"No!" Miranda objected, rising to her feet. "I'm… I'm alright."

"Like _FUCK_ you are," Jack dismissed, pulsing a light, almost gentle biotic pulse that caused the woman to stagger. "You get back to the ship, cheerleader. You _survive._ "

Jack seemed to only _then_ notice that everyone was watching the two of them, now _very_ close. She backed away slowly, muttering something.

"Miranda, I need you to take command of the _Normandy_ ," Shepard insisted. "If we have to make a quick getaway, or worse, no getaway, you need to get back to the other side of the Relay and tell the Alliance, the Conclave, hell, _everyone_ , what's going on here."

Miranda still didn't look pleased, but the quiet anger behind her eyes faded somewhat, giving way to a firm resoluteness.

"Acknowledged, _Commander."_

"We've done well so far," I added. "Now we just need to finish the job."

"Joker, can you get a fix on our position?" asked Shepard.

"Commander," our pilot answered. "The main chamber is directly above you. There's a security door blocking the way, but there's another passage running parallel to that."

"I cannot recommend that route, Shepard," EDI reported. "Thermal scans reveal that the alternate route is overrun with Seeker Swarms. Even Professor Solus' countermeasures will prove ineffective against so many."

"Conventional weapons are also useless against the Zha'til," Javik agreed. "We'd be torn apart."

"Perhaps not," Samara countered. "On our entrance, I found I was able to generate a biotic field to keep the swarms at bay. I will not be able to protect the whole party, but I could get a small team through, if they stayed close."

"Right then," Shepard said, after a moment's deliberation. "Samara and I will take a small team through while the rest of you create a diversion. We'll open the door and let the rest of the team through. Jack, Garrus, and Liara, you're with me. Jack, if it takes longer than expected, you'll need to help Samara support the barrier."

Subject Zero only nodded, and checked her weapon's heat level.

"Who should lead the diversionary team?" Miranda asked.

"That'd be me," I answered simply. "We'll keep them busy, and hopefully away from you."

"The Normandy's systems are _just_ now starting to come back online," Joker reported, "We'll meet the wounded for a pickup."

"Relay the coordinates to me, EDI," Reyna said, opening her Omni-Tool. "Have emergency first-aid teams standing by."

The young Thorian looked up at me. I reached over and squeezed her shoulder gently.

"You'll be fine."

"We've all got our assignments," Shepard said grimly. "Let's move!"

Kolyat and his father were exchanging some quiet words in the corner that I could not make out, but both of their hands were on each other's shoulders, and their head were bowed.

 _A drell prayer, perhaps?_

Thane was the first to draw back, giving his son a nod, which was returned. Then Kolyat picked up his rifle, and the Indomitable crewmen helped up Kasumi and Miranda, getting them back on their feet, and moving back the way we had come. Shepard's party moved off down a narrow corridor, a small door closing behind them.

I turned to the reduced party now left to me. By now, we had moved to the other side of the Main chamber, leaving the torn-apart wreck of the _Indomitable_ behind us.

"We move fast and we move forward," I instructed simply. "If we let them bog us down, we're dead. We make it to the door, and then hold it against all comers."

"Acknowledged," Legion answered, charging his sniper rifle.

I looked over at Tali and nodded. She hit the door controls, and the bay doors in front of us opened.

"Move!"

"BLOOD AND FUCKING VINEGAR, chaps!" Pyke screamed. "EE-RAH!"

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

 **It's rough winding down a story. You don't want it to come to an end, but you know it has to if we're going to get to** **Beacon's Effect 4: Reckoning** **. I was hoping to get through the entire Collector Base fight on this chapter, but the Thanksgiving holidays have really cut into my writing time. Next chapter will probably be the conclusion of this roller-coaster of a story. I hope you guys will like it. In this season of Thanksgiving, I'm grateful for each and every one of you for sticking with me in the journey that these stories have taken us on. You've stuck by in Ko'le's Gary Stu-ing, in my cheesy lines and stilted dialogue, and through your PMs and reviews, I truly think (and hope) that my writing has improved.**

 **Thank you all for your support, and keep the reviews and PMs coming!**

 **EE-Rah!**

 **-Tusken1602**

* * *

Review Responses:

Katkiller-V – Not everyone will live….

Squadpunk 2.0, Blaze1992 – Yes, I figured that drunk Tali stumbling would be just the ticket to break up this serious flirting going on. We've all been there, I think, taking care of that _one_ drunk friend who's inadvertently cock-blocking us.

KyuubiNodachi – Do Reapers count as Kaiju? I say yes.

Bearmauls, Nagato21, BJ Hanssen – For the Reaper indoctrination detectors, yes, those are canon in the Mass Effect Universe, but I figured that after 300 years of war, the Reapers might have developed _at least_ one countermeasure to those, and on top of that, the Black Fleet had only _just_ joined the Prothean Great Armada, so it's possible to mask Izzmenik's indoctrination for at least a little while? Anyway, those were my thoughts.

Toothless is best – I live, I die, I SHIP AGAIN! :P WITNESS ME!

BrotherCaptainShepard – Truth be told, _I'm_ still broke up about Karin's death, my friend.

griezz – A lot of people have requested that scene between Samara and Mirala, so you may want to keep an eye on "Tales from Starlight Station…"

Deathknight999 – Well said, my friend.

SpecterXCove – Everybody has different reactions to looming and imminent death.

general-joseph-dickson, Kailstormfire – It will be interesting to see Ash in BE:4, I think.

Tahkaullus01 – We will see how good your predictions are, my friend.

tamagat – I prefer GarrusxTali myself, as well.

Pietersielie – Well, that's the general arc of the Mass Effect Universe, isn't it? It starts light-hearted and merry as we set out to catch Saren, but then we get further and further down the rabbit hole and closer and closer to doomsday. Kevin as the SI thought he could just waltz in and fix everything. Now, I think, he realizes that failure is in fact not so much an option as a very real possibility. There is plot-armor in real life.

Anny-Rudolph – Hey, Kevin is allowed to be a Harry Potter fan. :P

jackli10345, deadtrooper, Elvisfonz23, OBSERVER01, Zeru'Xil, shugokage, Dragons guard, RakSandman – Thanks, you guys! Keep up the awesome work, and keep on being YOU!

You all ROCK!

P.S: Thanks for notifying me of the typo, people. :P :D


	27. Chapter 27: Suicide Mission

***THE COLLECTOR STATION  
** **GALACTIC CORE***

* * *

 ** _Prepare, prepare the iron helm of war,  
Bring forth the lots, cast in the spacious orb;  
Th' Angel of Fate turns them with mighty hands,  
And casts them out upon the darken'd earth!  
Prepare, prepare_**!

* * *

William Blake had never been my favorite poet, and I don't know why that poem was running over and over in my head as we were blasting our way towards the security door that we had staked all of our hopes that Shepard would unlock and open for us.

Tali's drone was ahead of us now, driving out enemies from cover. As they turned to attempt to deal with the small yellow nuisance, we were there to remind them of their error.

"Shepard? This is Bravo Team. Advancing into position."

 _No answer._

"It's probably the Swarm!" Mira mollified. "More than likely cutting off radio communication!"

"That _would_ be reassuring, Mira, if we weren't depending on them to _open_ that Father-damned door to get us out of here!"

Javik slammed a Collector to the ground, where Grunt raised a foot and crushed its skull under his heel.

With a clattering _whirrrr_ , my Pulse Rifle overheated, venting the excess heat from both exhaust ports along the side. Cursing the loss of my own gun on the Collector's Ship, I had no time but to drop it and pull my pistol from my back. I had put hours into that gun, messing with its power distribution, its heat transistors, its weight…. Now here, I was, in the battle of my life, with a stock Prothean Pulse Rifle from the _Normandy's_ armory. Mr. Taylor had done well in their care, upkeep, and upgrading, but it was still a far cry from _MY_ gun, painstakingly built in the cargo bay of the first _Normandy_.

Another thing the Collectors had taken from me.

Waves of human husks were attempting to rush us now, the sheer weight of their numbers knocking several off the edge.

"Grenades!"

Zaeed, Mordin, Pyke, and Jacob each lobbed a grenade onto the walkway behind us, the explosions scattering Collectors left and right. I folded my pistol back onto my back, and rolling backwards, scooped up my rifle again, hoping against hope it was cool enough now.

A swirling Maelstrom of Biotic energy opened just in front of the door, pulling the last defenders back from cover, suspending them helplessly in the air. Swinging his massive weapon in seemingly gentle arcs, Basher sent each of them flying, skulls crushed.

"Pyke! Jane! ON me!" Zaeed called out, running forward. The trio mowed through the enemies in front of us, Jane now with her combat knife and pistol. Suddenly, there was a high-pitched whine. There was a moment's hesitation as I tried to identify both the sound and its source. Then it hit me.

"SNIPER! GET DOW…"

A red beam struck Zaeed in the small of the back, knocking him down to the floor. In the next second, Thane and Turro both had fired, and the Collector Assassin tumbled from his perch down into the depths of the base beneath us.

"MR. Z!"

Basher moved forward and pulled the old mercenary back towards our lines. Jacob and I each grabbed an arm and pulled the man to cover. Mordin seized his armor and rolled him over.

 _Gut-shot_.

" _Fuck_ , I'm done for, Ko'le," Zaeed said, looking down at the bleeding mass that had been his lower torso.

"You'll be fine, Zaeed!" I said, handing him his rusty, broken-down Avenger rifle. "You and Jessie stay in the fight!"

Mordin was applying Medi-Gel on the wound, but the salarian shook his head once when we made eye contact.

* * *

 ** _Prepare your hearts for Death's cold hand! prepare  
Your souls for flight, your bodies for the earth;  
Prepare your arms for glorious victory;  
Prepare your eyes to meet a holy God!  
Prepare, prepare!_**

* * *

 ** _TURN THEM, KO'LE!_**

 **I cannot turn them, Beast!** **There's not enough time, we'd be cut down in the open!**

 _Unless we can turn ALL of them at the same time…_

But before Kevin could continue with his suggestion:

"Here they come again!" Leng shouted, using his palm-cannon to blast a husk off the side of the walkway.

"COME ON, YOU BASTARDS!" Massani yelled, raising his old rifle to his shoulder with a supreme effort. The rusted, outdated weapon belched fire and flame, mowing down all before it.

 **"Ko….ou read me? Hold on! We're…..most there!"**

"Shepard, do you copy?" I shouted into the Omni-Tool just as I heard the first Scion's dreadnought-cannon they have for an arm open fire, the signature _thumThumTHUM_ growing louder and nearer.

"Cover!"

 **"I copy,"** Shepard's voice came again, clearer this time. " **What is your position?"**

"We're pinned down at the door," I grunted, "Taking heavy fire!"

 **"We're coming, just hold on!"**

"Incinerates!" I called out. "Arc them high!"

The fiery projectiles arced upwards from our cover, and then came down in a mortar-esque series of explosions. The Scion tottered, but then still came on, even without the support of the husks and Collectors.

"JANE!" Basher shouted from where he crouched behind the only obstacle that could conceal he and his brother. "KNIFE!"

Jane hefted her blade in her palm, then chucked it over to her fellow clone. The massive bowie-knife was dwarfed in the giant krogan's mitts, but with a deftness belying his size, he caught the weapon in his left hand and then _hurled_ it towards the incoming creature. It caught the Scion at the shoulder, knocking the mutated abomination backwards, tottering on the edge of the narrow walkway.

"FUCK YOU!" Morinth yelled, summoning the last of her reserves to hurl a biotic blast that detonated directly against the Scion's chest. With a roar of pain and defiance, the Scion fell backwards, plummeting into the darkness beneath us.

"Shepard!" I shouted. "Get this fucking door open!"

 **"It's _jammed_!"** Liara shouted, her voice breaking in frustration.

"FUCK. THIS. SHIT!"

With a bellow of frustration, Basher followed up his words by swinging the hook of his Warhammer _into_ the solid steel doors.

And _pulled._

With a _screech_ and a groan, the doors _inched_ aside.

Just enough.

Basher and Grunt stuck their hands into the narrow crack, and heaved, physically moving one of the doors back. The two sons of Okeer _moved_ the giant doors it would have taken ten of their brethren to even budge.

 _Just_ enough.

"MOVE!" I yelled. "MOVE, MOVE, MOVE!"

Through the narrow two-foot gap, each crew-member shot through, turning once they were on the other side. I ran over to Zaeed.

"Let's MOVE, sol…dier."

Zaeed Massani's head was bent down on his chest, his death-grip still holding down the trigger on Jessie, the Avenger rifle _clickclickclick-ing_ the unmistakable noise of the rifle overheating.

"Blood…. thirsty…. bitch…." Zaeed whispered, his eyes closing. I seized the back of his collar, dragging his body through the door.

 _EE-rah, Zaeed Massani_. _You fought well._

Then I was through, lending my strength to the other biotics to try and keep the door open for the two krogan. By now, the biotics amongst us were trying as hard as we could to hold the door apart, but… _They were massive…_

"YOU FIRST!" Basher called out to Grunt.

"DAMN RIGHT!" the "First-Born" answered, shifting his weight to slip through the narrow crack.

With a guttural roar, Basher shoved the door back, and then leapt through to make it on the other side.

Just as a Scion's dark bolt of warpfire collided with him.

"NO!"

Jane's shout was almost lost in the _SLAM_ of the giant security doors. Basher looked down at his chest as the dark Reaper-infused biotics dissipated, leaving a visible hole where I knew at least _one_ of his hearts was located.

"Ow."

The clone slumped to the ground, first to his knees, then on his back.

"BASHER!"

Grunt and Jane's shout blended together as they both ran to the last Okeer's side. Jane gave a tearful look to Mordin, who only shook his head at the pointless unspoken question.

"Forgive me, brother," Basher choked, spewing orange blood from both his chest and mouth. "I wasn't… _strong_ enough..."

Grunt winced, and then reached over, taking the Warhammer from Basher's fingers.

"No, brother: you were _perfect_."

Basher's eyes grew wide, and joy flooded his face in the form of a wide, toothy grin.

 _"Perfect…?"_

Then his heavy lids closed, and the hand gripping Jane's _ever_ so gently went limp.

Okeer Basher was dead.

 **NOOO!**

 _Zaeed was supposed to LIVE, goddammit! Dammit!_

Kevin's mental anguish and Ko'le's loss was drowned out by Beast's roar of fury:

 ** _We must press on.  
We must gain Control of the Fallen.  
His death must MEAN something! _**

**Beyond another suicide mission for the Empire, you mean…**

 ** _Just so, Ko'le._**

Meanwhile, outside of my mental debate, there was a moment of silence, the only noise being the exhausted panting of warriors who had just been in the fight of their lives, and were soon to be again. Jack and Samara looked like both of them had overclocked their amps, a trickle of blood dripping from Samara's nose. Morinth came over and knelt in front of her, gently laying a hand on the Justicar's shoulder as she wiped her face. Jack and Miranda had both slumped down against the wall, the "ice-queen" resting her head on Jack's shoulder, eyes closed in sheer exhaustion. Turro had knelt down next to Zaeed's body, along with Mira. Legion stood some distance away on overwatch, the ever-vigilant geth watching for any signs of the enemy. The remainder of our party stood with heads bowed, or found seats on the ground.

"Joker, did the crew make it back safely?" Shepard finally asked into her head-set, breaking the silence.

 **"Roger that, Commander, all survivors onboard."**

 **"Kolyat was wounded on the way back, Commander,"** Reyna reported but quickly added, " **Not badly, I mean, the medical team expects a full recovery.** "

EDI's voice cut in. " **The Normandy's engines will be restarting soon, Commander. We will be ready to depart on your mark."**

"Well done, sweetie," Mira answered softly.

"We've all done well," I consoled the A.I., nodding at Jane who was still holding Basher's hand. "And we've paid dearly for it. Only one more push to go."

Shepard nodded. "We will hold here while Ko'le and Javik lead a team to blow the main systems. This is what I need to do, Ko'le," she said, holding up a finger before I could object. "You two know the systems better than I do. This is _your_ fight. This is _your_ vengeance."

You would have made a good Prothean, Commander.

Shepard nodded at the Avatar of Vengeance.

"Tallaxis! Pyke! Fall in."

"Ko'le," Mira objected, rising to her feet from where she had knelt beside Zaeed's form. "Take me…"

"Not a chance," I insisted. "Shepard will need that rifle of yours here…"

The Prophet of the New Geth drew close suddenly, putting a hand on the back of my neck and pulling me into a fierce kiss. I was too stunned to even object, her cool lips on my own, cool to the touch. Then she pulled back and stared into my eyes.

"You. Come. Back," she growled. "I didn't survive the Citadel _and_ Haestrom to lose you here."

Dumbfounded, I simply nodded, trying to find the words to respond to what had just happened.

"Here they come!"

Jacob's call brought the approaching platforms to everyone's attention, each one swarming with Collector husks.

"COME TO YOUR DEATHS, little ones!" Grunt called, hefting his brother's Warhammer in hand. "My BROTHER must be AVENGED!"

"Pour it onto 'em!" Shepard called out.

I saw Morinth supporting her mother to her feet, weapons in hand. Our eyes locked for just a moment. There was a plaintive request, unspoken, but echoing Mira's.

A grunt beside me drew my attention away as Jacob Taylor suddenly went flying backwards, wreathed in black biotics. He slammed against the closed door, crumpling limply to the ground.

He did not move again. Grunt seized him, pulling him back into cover as Mordin pulled out his ever-ready Omni-Tool.

 **"YOU WILL FALL TO ME."**

A black and gold glowing figure descended towards us.

"KO'LE!" Shepard shouted. "Get going! This prick's MINE!"

"COME ON!" Javik shouted, the small platform beginning to rise, to take us to our destination. Aiming my rifle to fire on the oncoming attackers, I moved left and leapt to the moving octagonal raised area.

"This one has programmed the Control Station as our destination, Herald," Tallaxis said, closing the panel on the platform's master panel.

We pulled away from the fire-fight, none of the other Collectors opting to pursue us. Everything was quiet as we moved through the bowels of the Collector Station.

 **"Father,"** EDI's voice came over the radio. **"I have you on scanners now! You're moving into the superstructure now. I have one contact, emitting both organic _and_ non-organic signatures. Given these readings, it must be _massive."_**

EDI's voice shifted from questioning to incredulous.

 ** _"Dad… if my calculations are correct,_ this…"**

"Is a Reaper," I finished for her, the massive skeleton-like construction suddenly looming into sight as we came around the corner.

"Father below…" Javik swore in awe.

"The collectors would have to process tens of thousands of humans to build such a device," Tallaxis postulated, looking up at the tubs of black goo running into the inner-workings of the Human Reaper.

"And _millions_ more would be necessary to complete it," I agreed.

The sound of a SMG being charged drew our attention away from the massive abomination. Pyke aimed his twin guns at the pipes above us.

"NOT on my Bally WATCH!"

"PYKE!"

The two guns blazed, shredding the unprotected tubs apart, black bile-like fluid spilling out, like the life-blood of some wounded animal.

Which is exactly what the screams that suddenly filled the air sounded like.

The eyes of the creature _flared_ to life, and the air itself was rent with the cries of a thousand voices, all screaming.

Screaming…not in rage… not in determination….

 _PAIN._

 _AGONY._

This was no slave of Harbinger's…

This was a rabid creature, tearing at any who came near. The right hand, chained to the ceiling, activated, a pillar of orange flame pouring towards our approaching ride.

"JUMP!" I shouted, following my own orders. It was a long drop to the

Even unfinished, the Proto-Reaper whirled, a massive hand batting the airborne hanar aside like a fly. Slamming against the platform, the hanar's armor was rent and his jet-pack was smoking.

"TAL!"

Pyke moved forward towards the fallen hanar, just as the Reaper began arming the massive laser in its palm. Tallaxis looked upwards, then at his would-be rescuer.

"No!" The hanar's biotics pulsed weakly, but even so, it was enough to knock the vorcha clear. The Abomination's Hand roared to life, a _pillar_ of flame descended upon Tallaxis.

A fully-charged shield would not have protected anyone from such a blast, and Tallaxis' were broken and fragmented.

The acrid scent of burning flesh filled the air.

"Brother!" Javik called, holding a wounded arm. "We DO NOT have time for this!"

"I KNOW!" I snapped, my brain trying to come up with _some_ scenario that didn't involve any of us dying.

Any _more_ of us, that is…

 ** _Ee-Rah, Tallaxis of Kahje…_ _The Fallen we liberate will REMEMBER YOUR NAME!_**

 **KEVIN! How did you kill this MONSTER in the GAME?!**

"Target the PIPES!" I yelled aloud, Kevin's memories of the game flooding my mind. "They're holding it in place! Take them down and it DIES!"

Javik threw a biotic blast from behind cover, the green orb of power snapping upwards and detonating, shearing another of the pipes, black Life-Matter pouring forth in arterial gushes.

"WATCH OUT!"

Javik leapt clear as the enraged Proto-Reaper targeted the platform he was standing on. It too fell into the abyss, broken and smoking.

 **Our footing is growing more precarious by the minute!**

 _Yeah, yeah, tell us something we don't know, Ko'le!_

"COVER ME, SAH!" Pyke yelled, running back towards the platform on the far side. I rose from my position, moving in the opposite direction, aiming for the Reaper's chest and moving up to target the "eyes."

"HEY! OVER HERE, FUCKER!"

The Reaper turned at my taunt, both palms coming up in my direction.

 _Oh, crap._

Suddenly its back arched as it let out another scream of pain. Javik's rifle had ruptured yet another pipe. The Reaper then split its focus, one palm for each of us.

 _FUUUUUCK me…_

I dove right at the same time Javik did, the massive blast of energy being absorbed by the rock barrier that littered the interconnected platforms. However, the growing heat and the sound of crumbling stone made it abundantly clear that this was only a temporary reprieve from the giant monstrosity's wrath.

"NO STRAW-DEATH FOR PYKE MORRELL!"

I whirled my head to see that the crazy vorcha had succeeded in detaching one of the distant platforms. It floated _just_ above the others, and was moving forward, towards the skeleton-esque creature.

And MOVING FAST.

"PYKE, NO!" I heard my own voice scream.

Time slowed to a crawl: The massive platform passed right between Javik and I, where we were still crouching under the Reaper's insane barrage. Pyke Morrell, Colour-Sergeant of the 1st Heshtok Irregulars, was at the controls, guiding it forward, a delighted smile on his face. Sheer and untarnished joy was on his countenance, as he drove his kamikaze charge directly into the chest of the unfinished Human Reaper with a final defiant war-cry:

"EE-FUCKING-RAH!"

The platform struck the Proto-Reaper squarely in the chest, knocking it backward. With a screeching scream of sheering metal, the remaining pipes strained and burst, knocking the Cyborg-Giant clear of its restraints. For its awesome weaponry, the unfinished abomination had no independent method of propulsion. Instead, in clawed wildly in a vain attempt to extricate the blade-like platform from its chest cavity as both of them fell backwards, tumbling into the inky blackness of the Abyss beneath us.

"Morrell!" Javik yelled, running to the edge with me. The massive figurer of our foe could be seen growing fainter and fainter, only an orange glow illuminating its fall.

 _And growing brighter…_

"BACK!" I yelled, putting an arm around Javik and hurling the two of us backwards as the Reaper's final desperation-fueled shot struck the edge of the platform, sending sections crumbling downwards to follow its now-disappeared form.

A cold numbness had taken hold of my body.

Pyke Morrell, my loyal commander, my trusted ally, one of my best friends of this cycle, was dead.

My course was set.

My destiny was clear:

 _The Collectors would be awakened._

 _The Protheans would have their vengeance, Pyke Morrell. I swear it_.

Javik's head was bowed, and _honor, anger,_ and _mourning_ radiated from his aura as he brought up a hand to his chest.

"Ko'le?"

Come in Shepard!

We are holding, but they KEEP COMING! A quick exit would be REALLY NICE right now!

HEAD to the Normandy! I instructed. Joker, EDI: prep the engines. I'm about to render our Collector problem null and void.

Roger that! Light up your IFF beacons when you're ready, and we'll come and get you!

Don't worry about us, Commander. This fight will be over soon.

I turned and strode up the walkway, pressing the button on the control panel. Two control rods arose from the panel. Inputing the Leviathans' code via these interface would purge Harbinger from the system.

Leaving only the Awakened.

Leaving only the Prothean Empire, REBORN in all its vengeful glory.

"You forget THIS, Seneschal?."

I turned to see Javik holding the improvised depth-charge Tali, Ken, and Gabby had designed to overload the station and trigger a massive explosion.

"I forget NOTHING, Avatar."

"Ko'le…" Javik's tone was anger and trepidation. "We decided _this_ was the better way."

"WE DECIDED NOTHING!" I snapped. "And circumstances have changed."

"NOTHING has changed!" Javik said, grabbing my shoulder and whirling me around.

Beast's snarl was undeniable, and a blast of biotic energy sent Javik back a few feet, staggering. =

 ** _"THEY ARE MINE!"_** Hate and anger flowed from tongue, unbidden. I wrested control back from the tortured soul as I turned back to the control panel.

"There are _millions_ of them, Javik. Do you understand? Within this station and the stasis pods grouped and scattered across the asteroid field. Shepard and the others are being chased back to the _Normandy_ as we speak. Controlling them is the ONLY way to ensure the party's escape!"

Betrayal and disbelief were plan in Javik's aura and his expression.

"Ko'le! Killing them would accomplish the same, without betraying everything we believe in!"

"We blow this station, they _all_ die. AND ALL of our friends died for _nothing!_ Or I can seize the control rods and Awaken THEM!"

"You would control them, as Harbinger does? You would play puppet-master with the corpses of our loved ones?"

"NO! I can download the memory files stored within this station. Each person, each…consciousness. Dranen Thurn, Braka, Lilliande, I can bring them all back, Javik! I could even bring Urush back!"

"No, brother! Let the abominations die!"

"Our Fallen may live again. May fight again! Avatar, what better act of vengeance is there than that: to _undo_ the Harvest of an entire Cycle? To restore our dead to life again?!"

I was typing furiously, trying to bring up the "Purge" command line, combatting line of Reaper code.

"They would be nothing more than synthetic implants in the long-dead corpses of our brothers and sisters," Javik objected. "Give them the dignity in final death, Ko'le. Destroy this…this… Temple of Desecration!"

"I can gain an army to fight against the Reapers!"

"It is against everything we ever stood for! Everything we ever fought for!"

"Javik! THINK of all the _living_ we can save with the strength of the dead!"

"It is _YOU_ who is not thinking clearly, brother!"

"I AM thinking! _Thinking_ of what we can gain! If I can grant life to the Fallen again…some _semblance_ of sentience…."

"No matter _what_ we may find, or gain, it's not worth it!"

 **"IT IS! IT IS WORTH IT TO ME!"**

Javik drew back, and then made up his mind:

"Then I hope you can forgive me for this:"

He held up his hand, and his frame was wreathed in green biotics.

"Ee DeCuam Nos mEh."

But this time, I was ready for it. I _felt_ Ko'le's and Beast's consciousness fade from my mind to the pre-programmed sleep. It was an eerie feeling, much like a snake shedding its scales. Like a scab being peeled from a wound. It hurts, but there is the odd _pleasure_ of being…. free.

Then there remained only… ME.

"I have to do this Javik," I said, straightening and beholding Javik with my own eyes and speaking with my own voice.

Javik's eyes were dark, and his stance was suspicious, ready for anything.

"Who. Are. You? You are neither the weapon Beast, nor are you Ko'le, my brother."

 _I do not have the time to explain!_

"I am…Someone Else!" I insisted. "But trust me, We MUST preserve this station! We will need it in the upcoming war!"

"This is a station of evil, Stranger. Only a Reaper or Reaper _thrall_ could control it."

"IT CAN BE **MINE**! It **WILL** BE MINE! I'm telling you that **I CAN CONTROL IT**!"

"My point exactly."

My hands, froze and all my body felt like I was frozen in ice. A cold sensation was washing over me. I looked down, and Javik withdrew his dagger from my side, where he had plunged it upwards, in _that_ _one_ place in my armor where _only_ a Prothean would know to deal the Mercy-blow to a mortally-wounded comrade.

"Beast I could have trusted to kill any Reaper he came across. Ko'le, I could have reasoned with. But I do not know _you_ , Stranger. And I must protect my people, even their memories….

"Javik…." Blood washed into my mouth, choking me. My lungs wracked and coughed in a losing battle to clear my airways.

"I am sorry." Javik pressed his forehead to mine. In an instant, our eyes turned white in the Mind Share.

I was still lying on the ground, bleeding from my side. Beside me lay Ko'le and Beast, unconscious. Javik stood over us…bloody dagger in hand.

"I will continue to lead our people, brother, and hold together this Conclave that you have built. With our weapons and your preparations which you have set in motion, we _will_ be ready for the Reapers when they come."

Tears rolled from his eyes, unabashed and unashamed.

"You have told me… _so many times,_ that the atrocities we committed in the war do not hang upon us. That we should not bear their burden."

He looked down at the bloody dagger in his hand, then back down at me.

"So I want you to know: I will _never_ forgive myself for this, my friend. I will _never_ unshoulder the burden of guilt for what I have done to you. And when the war is done and a future secured for our people, I will return to this place. And I will join you in death, my brother. I swear it."

All of this had taken place in the _instant_ we were connected in the Mind-Share.

 **"Ko'le! We need to move, and we need to move NOW! What's your status?"**

Javik turned and picked up the massive explosive charge. He strode over to the adjacent platform, placing it upon the control panel. He typed in the code, and I saw the light turn from Green to Red.

"Commander," He answered over the Omni-Tool. "the charge is armed. Retreat to the Normandy. I will join you there."

 **"Roger that,"** Shepard's voice was calm, cool, and collected, as it always was. " **What about Ko'le?"**

Javik turned at looked at me. My breaths were shallow and ragged now, and the Avatar of Vengeance faded in and out of my focus.

"He is dead, Commander."

He made eye contact with me, pure sorrow radiating from his being.

"I will be…. alone."

There was a silence over the radio, with only gunshots and noise of battle in the background. Javik turned and began to run back the way we had come. He paused at the last platform to take a last look, then turned the corner of the passageway.

 ** _Kevin._**

 _Ko'le…I'm so sorry._

 **MOVE!**

 _I…I can't, BEAST…I'm dying…._

 **MOVE, KEVIN! You are not dead yet…**

 _The…. the charge…it will go off any second_ …

 ** _Exactly… you must make it to the control panel_. **

I moved an arm to try and roll over, but the pain nearly caused me to black out…the call of blissful unconsciousness beckoned.

Then the pain faded altogether. Then Beast's voice spoke,

 **I WILL BEAR THE PAIN, KEVIN.**

Ko'le voice cut into my thoughts.

 ** _I will handle gaining control of the station, Kevin. You just have to move, and quickly._**

 _But I…_

 **NOW, KEVIN.**

Summoning every ounce of my will, I rolled over with what seemed to be a monumental effort. I wanted to sleep for days as a reward for such a workout, but I gritted my teeth and placed one hand in front of the other, _crawling_ myself forward.

"We have ten minutes before the reactor overloads and blows this whole station apart."

 **"HUMAN."**

 _Fuck, this guy again?_

 **"YOU'VE CHANGED NOTHING, ORDAINED."**

I made it to the panel, trailing blood all the way.

 **"YOUR SPECIES HAS ONLY GAINED THE ATTENTION OF THOSE INFINITELY YOUR GREATER.**

 **WE ARE YOUR SALVATION THROUGH DESTRUCTION.**

 **DESTROY THIS BASE. WE WILL ERECT A DOZEN MORE."**

"You…have…failed, Kamutan. I have found _another way_ …."

My eyes turned white as I plunged my entire hand into the control panel wiring, completing the station-sized circuit. Ko'le's voice boomed and echoed in the massive chamber as my eyes faded from white to ink-black:

 ** _"I AM KO'LE, SENESCHAL OF MY PEOPLE, ORDAINED OF THE FIRST MASTERS, WALKER OF THE VOID; AND I AM… ASSUMING DIRECT CONTROL!"_**

* * *

 ** _Whose fatal scroll is that? Methinks 'tis mine!  
Why sinks my heart, why faltereth my tongue?  
Had I three lives, I'd die in such a cause,  
And rise, with ghosts, over the well-fought field.  
Prepare, prepare!_**

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

 **I promise, the story is not over. Don't hate me. Or kill me.**

 **-Tusken1602**

* * *

Reviewer Responses:

StrawHatLuffy94, NicaEM, dekuton – Thanks for catching the typo! ;P

Squadpunk 2.0, tamagat, Tahkaullus01, Bearmauls, OBSERVER01, general-joseph-dickson – I did say not everyone was going to make it out alive. I promise, I already had a list of survivors. Reviewers had no bearing on who lived and who died…

redcollector – We'll be kicking off ME:3 right away, but we'll see a few "in-between-quels" for the time space between ME:2 and 3. After all, Shepard's not gonna be arrested this time.

Sajuuk – New Power? Absolutely.

Toothless is best – " _Normandy."_

KyuubiNodachi – He went out like a champion, my friend.

METALHELLSPWN – It was fun to imagine a WW2 Normandy flying through a field of flack. :P

Zeru'Xil – "Many places I have been. Many sorrows I have seen. But I don't regret, nor will I forget all who took the road with me…"

Blaze1992 – She volunteered. And you know what they say: hindsight is 20/20.

Pietersielie, Lord Mortem, Guest, Katkiller-V, Elvisfonz23, jackli10345, SpecterXCove, shugokage – Hope you guys enjoyed the chapter! Stick around for the next one!

It'll be worth waiting the week for, I promise!


	28. Chapter 28: Aftermath

Hello everyone! I'm Aiden Polonius, and you're joining us for StarView, brought to you be Citadel Galactic News, a subsidiary of Future Content Corporation. We go now to the hottest story in the galaxy: Emily Wong, joining us live from the Ceremony of Remembrance, Temple of the Enkindlers, Kahje. Emily, what's the atmosphere like there?

E: Hello Aiden, the atmosphere here has been heavy with loss and with sorrow at the loss of Ko'le Seneschal, Imperator of the Conclave. We are gathered here at the Temple of the Enkindlers, on the largest mainland continent of Kahje, where the Prothean Remnant has come together to symbolically bury their Seneschal, his body being lost when the Collector Base exploded on the far side of the Omega-4 Relay. Also remembered in this ceremony are the other casualties suffered by the expedition:

Zaeed Massani, onetime leader of the Black Suns

Pyke Morrell, commander of the 1st Heshtok Irregulars

Okeer Basher, Tallaxis of Kahje, Jacob Taylor

Also remembered are the 12 crewmen of the _Normandy_ and the 29 members of the crew of the _Indomitable_ lost in the expedition, as well as Alliance military physician Flight Lt. Karin Chakwas, who was another casualty of what is being called the Battle of the Core.

A: Emily, how is the Conclave responding to this devastating loss of one of their, arguably the _best_ of their political leaders, at such a crucial time?

E: You're absolutely right, Aiden, the loss of the Imperator has been a devastating blow to the Conclave. But, even in their grief, the member races have come together to celebrate his life, and mourn his death. Each of the other members of the Circle have assembled here, along with representatives of all the Citadel races, the Batarian Hegemony, and I'm told, even from the Terminus Warlords Aria T'Loak and Yan T'Ravt: a very impressive gesture indeed.

Imperator-elect Zaal'Koris vas Qwib Qwib is following the coffin into the Inner Sanctum, along with the Protheans gathered here. I'm told this is a great honor accorded to Ko'le Seneschal's successor, as no other outsider has been allowed into the Prothean temple.

A: And Emily, another fascinating development that's taken place over the course of this funeral is the confirmed survival of the first human Spectre!

E: Absolutely right again, Aiden: Alliance Commander and Council Spectre Rebecca Shepard made the first speech at the funeral, confirming the rumors of her survival of the attack on her ship two years ago. The Citadel Council and the Alliance Military have both declined to comment, citing galactic security issues were at the heart of the Spectre's reported death and two-year-long absence. It would appear…

 ** _KA-BOOM._**

A: "Emily? Emily, what's going on?"

E: "Oh, my God."

A: "Emily! Are you alright!"

E: "Yes, Aiden… we're fine, but it would appear some kind of massive explosion has detonated inside the temple. I can see figures running towards the blast, Commander Shepard and several of the _Normandy_ crew, along with Conclave Security forces. Oh, _God_ , if that went off inside the temple… We need to get closer, Jimmy. Aiden, we'll try and get closer and get more details! Again, a terrible disaster seems to have befallen the already-tragic Remembrance Ceremony of Ko'le Seneschal. This is Emily Wong…"

* * *

 ***ENKINDLER'S SHRINE  
FIRST LAND ORBITAL STATION  
RELIC SYSTEM  
EAGLE NEBULA***

Morinth shut off her Omni-Tool. The news had been replaying the same clips over and over again for the past three days.

"T'Loak," she said, clenching her fists. "It had to have been T'Loak. She struck the Conclave when it was weakest."

"I'm not too sure: T'Loak and T'Ravt are not such fools as they would target a moderate peacemaker such as Koris, especially with warmongers such as Petrovsky waiting in the wings."

"What do you mean? Zaal'Koris is dead, as are dozens of what few Protheans were left. With Petrovsky now in charge, they're about to find out how good they had it with Ko… the previous Imperators."

"A regrettable course of events," Samara mourned. "The strong hand of Ko'le and a peacemaker like Zaal'Koris is precisely what this galaxy needs, not Petrovsky's warmongering."

Samara held up a hand to cut off Mirala's response, "I have already discussed this at length with Shepard. She intends to take the _Normandy_ and return to the Alliance."

"Can she do that?"

Samara smiled. "I do not believe she intended on _asking_ for permission. Zaal'Koris promised the ship to the Commander. I believe she intends to make the most of that promise. Petrovsky cannot afford for his first command to be the repudiation of both of his predecessors' wishes…"

Mirala smiled as well at the back-handed diplomacy of Commander Rebecca Shepard, then grew serious again.

"Thank… Thank you for letting me attend the ceremony."

Her mother nodded.

"He was a good man," the Justicar admitted. "With faults, to be sure, but a good man."

"He was," Mirala agreed.

"It is no surprise that you loved him," Samara said simply. "What he accomplished in three short years is more than most Matriarchs will accomplish in their entire lifetimes."

The shuttle set down on First Land. From here, the AR _Adjudicator_ would meet the pair to bear them to Lesuss.

Back to the Night-sister Monastery.

"Are _these_ really necessary?" Morinth asked as they exited the shuttle, holding up the biotic restraints on her wrists. "I took an _oath_ , for Athame's sake."

"they are not there because _I_ do not believe you," Samara assured quickly. "But other Justicars will be on the _Adjuticator._ I cannot be seen to show leniency or favoritism."

Before her daughter could make some sort of smart remark, a serious look crossed her face.

"Mother…" she nodded towards the bottom of the landing platform. A single Batarian obstructed their path, with other armed thugs surrounding the platform. He crossed his arms, his helmet unfolding from around his head. One of the batarian's lower eyes was white, blinded, no doubt, by whatever had given him scar that ran all the way across his face.

"Justicar Samara?"

"I am."

"You know who I am?"

A mirthless ghost of a smile appeared on Samara's expression.

"I do."

"Then you know why I am here. You killed my brother, Taka ul Benissal, on Lorek, nine months ago."

Samra drew herself up, but still keeping half an eye on the other thugs surrounding the pair.

"He was a slaver, who preyed upon the innocent, and profited from the suffering of the defenseless. I brought the Goddess' Justice upon him."

"He was my _brother_ ," the batarian shrugged. "I claim blood-right, by the ancient laws of Kharshan."

The armored batarian flared his biotics, cracking his knuckles together. Samara braced herself, looking over her shoulder at Morinth. Her daughter nodded, and stepped back slowly. Samara turned back to the armored figure facing her.

"Come then, Kodak ul Benissal," she said. "I will send you to join your brother, if that is what you desire."

The Batarian Slasher deployed twin Omni-Blades, boosting his biotics into a charge. Samara side-stepped and delivered a kick to the chest that, had the biotic not been wearing armor, might have ended the conflict then and there. As it was, it was enough to enough to knock the much larger fighter staggering back, before he came on again.

Samara was impressed. Kodak utilized his blades in tight, controlled thrusts, rather than the wild slashes most batarians she had fought employed. Two miniature biotic barriers she had deployed where acting as twin shields, blocking the savage attacks. Suddenly, as she spun to avoid yet another thrust, Kodak shot out a foot, delivering a kick to the back of her leg. Grunting, she went down on one knee. With a roar of triumph, Kodack thrust downward, straight for her heart.

Just as she had planned.

Leaning left to avoid the thrust, Samara grabbed the arm as it passed, using it to pull herself up, and then wrapped her legs around the batarian's neck. She twisted, hard. The shoulder dislocated with a sickening _pop_ , leaving her free to slide around directly behind him. She seized his jaw and the back of his head, and with a flare of biotic power, twisted hard. Kodak's neck snapped like a dry twig, and his biotics faded as his lifeless corpse flopped to the ground. Breathing hard, Samara turned back to the skycar.

Morinth was gone.

 _Goddess_.

The anger that swelled up in her chest was quickly replaced with sickening dread as she spotted a group of armored mercenaries traveling down the street, asari body in hand.

 _Mirala_.

 _The biotic restraints had prevented her from protecting herself…_

Her blazing charge forward quickly closed the distance between her and her daughter's would-be kidnappers. Suddenly, the figure at the very back whirled and tossed a spherical object directly at her.

She tried to throw herself to the right to avoid the grenade, but a _crack_ was all that emanated from the sphere, and suddenly she was tripping, turning her fall into a controlled roll.

 _Biotic nullifier grenades?_

These mercs had come well-prepared.

A _massive_ blow collided with Samara's chest. With no biotics to protect herself, she was knocked onto her back, winded. She looked down, expecting the worst, but there was no bullet hole in her armor.

 _What in Athame's Name?_

The roar of a shuttle filled the air as another air-car came directly overhead. The human activated a jet-pack on her back, conveying her into the open side door, even as Samara rolled to her side and then to her feet, _willing_ her biotics to return. She pulled the heavy pistol from her back, but gauging from how the shots _bounced_ off the shuttle's body, it had been heavily reinforced. A shout of frustration escaped the usually-serene Justicar as the air-car pulled away, back towards the spaceport. A short run back to her own rental confirmed what she already suspected: the controls had been sabotaged.

 _Mirala_ … _I will find whoever took you_ , she silently vowed. _And they shall be judged._

* * *

 ***MEANWHILE** *

"How is she, Jane-sho?" Turro asked, programming the shuttle to take them to the nearby merchant vessel.

"Unconscious," Jane said, pulling off the helmet and checking the Ardat-Yakshi's pulse. "But still fine. That tranquilizer would take down an elephant. Figure she'll be out of it for a while yet."

"And Samara?"

"The round was a non-lethal suppressant," Jane said, flopping down into the co-pilot's chair. "Besides a bruised rack, she'll be fine. Pissed off, I imagine."

The clone exhaled, putting her face in her hands.

"I still can't believe we pulled it off. I mean, how…?"

"The mercenaries were a simple matter of pay," Turro shrugged. "And it was not difficult to find someone on First Land with a grudge against Justicars."

The High Seeker turned to look at Jane.

"Thank you for helping me carry out this mission, Jane-sho." He turned to stare out the windshield as the tiny shuttle broke orbit. "I have lost enough friends," he answered, though the question was unspoken. "I had to save Mirala from death, if I could. And to save Lady Samara, as well."

"From what?"

"From having the blood of her eldest and most beloved of her daughters on her hands."

"Oh. I was just happy to wipe that insufferably smug grin off her face."

Turro's head tilted right in a Raloian smile. "I thought you might. It is why I asked _you_ and not… the others."

The pair grew silent, the loss of their friends once again weighing upon them. Jane cleared her throat.

"So, what's next for you?"

"The College of the Eyries needs my report. The days ahead will be perilous. As a High Seeker, it is my duty to help guide them through the storm."

"And as the newest Warden of the Conclave," Jane reminded him.

Turro scoffed. "Petrovsky gives out ranks, in hopes that planting gifts will garner loyalty. But enough of that," he dismissed, "What of you? Back to the Alliance, with your sister?"

Jane shook her head. "I'll go with Morinth back to Omega. She'll be safe there."

Turro's head went _far_ to the left. "Jane-sho… Petrovsky has publicly blamed the Terminus Warlords for the bombings on Kahje. The talks with the Geth have already ceased, and Mira-sho and Legion-sha have departed back for the Veil. War will be declared soon..."

"Which is precisely why Samara will be unable to track her there," Jane stated confidently. "Besides… I don't… not after…"

Turro reached out a feathered wing and laid in gently on the human's knee.

"Call upon me, Jane-sho, and I will be there. By Father below and Mother above, I swear it. "

Jane smiled and patted Turro's "hand."

"I know, my friend. And thank you."

"BLEAAUGH!" Mirala shot up suddenly, thoroughly freaking out the freelancers and mercs still lounging in the back of the shuttle. "HWHAT HAPPENNNNNEDED? HAWAT's going on?!"

Jane smiled. "Better go fill her in on the situation."

Turro nodded.

"That would probably be best."

* * *

 ***BETHESDA HOSPITAL  
** **ARCTURUS STATION***

"Shepard?"

Rebecca started awake, looking up to find the source of the voice.

Garrus was standing above, a slightly contrite look on the turian's face.

"We're coming into the shuttle-bay. Thought you'd want to be awake in case there were any reporters waiting to waylay you."

"Oh, _God_ ," Shepard groaned. "If Khalisah al-Jilani is standing there with her camera, I _swear_ I'm gonna punch her stupid, bitchy little face!"

Garrus chuckled as he sat down beside the Spectre.

"Well, now I'm _hoping_ she's there…"

The two of them sat quietly for a moment.

"You _sure_ I can't convince you to stay on the _Normandy_?" Shepard asked. "Even if I promise not to make any more 'calibration' jokes?"

Garrus grinned. "Tempting offer…"

"With Tali going back to Ilos, and Grunt returning to Tuchanka, I'm losing my crew," Shepard stated, trying (and failing) to make the statement seem lighthearted.

"Miranda?" Garrus asked. "Jack?"

Shepard shook her head. "Miranda said she was leaving the Conclave. Took an offer to teach at Grissom Academy. Says she got Jack a position, too."

Garrus smiled. "And Jane made fun of me for calling those two. No sign of Kasumi either?"

Shepard shook her head. "She was gone before we even made it back to Kahje. No trace. Mordin says he's going back to Sur'Kesh. Wants to continue Maelon's work. And Jane…" Shepard bowed her head again. "I don't know _what_ to do with that situation…"

"Well, look at it this way," Garrus jibed. "I've gotta go talk down my dad, the big, powerful, no-nonsense retired general, and convince him that giant space monsters are coming to kill us all. Aaand you've got to go confront your mom."

"I'll take the turian ex-general," Shepard moaned.

"That's the trouble, Shepard: not fast enough with the 'dibs.'"

Shepard glanced up at Garrus.

"'Dibs' is a thing in turian culture?"

"No," admitted Garrus, "but I confess it's a human custom I've adopted with relish. If only for the fact that humans are so bad at it, and yet for some inexplicable cultural reason, the 'dibs' is nearly universally recognized."

The pair shared a chuckle.

"I'm gonna miss you, Garrus."

"Same here, Shepard," the big turian replied. "But now we've seen what's coming for us. Hell, Reapers _making_ other Reapers? The Hierarchy can't be content to wait and see what's coming. We've got to prepare."

Shepard nodded in agreement. "I've got to go put boots up asses at the Alliance, too."

"Come on," Garrus smiled, nudging the human, "Shepard/Vakarian vs. the Council? They haven't got a prayer…"

Shepard grinned and leaned against the big turian.

"I really thought he was gonna make it, Garrus."

"I know," Garrus answered, not needing an explanation on who she was talking about. "He always tried to present himself as larger than life. But in the end, he was just as vulnerable as the rest of us… It's not your fault, Shepard. We all knew what we were signing up for before making that Jump."

"I know. I just wish…"

"NOW LANDING AT ARCTURUS STATION," the passenger shuttle's VI announced over the loudspeaker.

"What about EDI?" Garrus asked, "What's she doing? How did she react to your whole 'Take the Ship' Plan?"

"She suggested it," Shepard answered. "She's requested to stay on the ship, posing as the ship's VI interface. I agreed."

"After what she did for the rest of us, it's the least we can do," Garrus agreed. "Joker will be glad to hear it anyway."

The doors opened, and the few passengers disembarked. Shepard was again grateful that she had decided _not_ to bring the _Normandy_ to Arcturus Station. On this nondescript passenger shuttle, she and Garrus were just another turian and human.

Gone were the dreaded figures of reporters and politicians, seeking a quick sound-byte or a photo-op with the first Human Spectre. On the far side of the platform, two figures awaited them. The man stood at ease, just behind the woman in crutches.

"Ash."

"Skipper…"

The word had barely escaped Ashley's lips before her grip on the crutch slipped, causing her to fall to her right. Vega and Shepard caught her together, just barely averting disaster as the sobs came.

"It's not _fair…!_ "

"I know."

"We were… * **gasp** *I never got to…"

"I know."

"What do I _do?_ What… How…?"

"We push on, one day at a time," Shepard answered, helping Vega get her back to her feet. "And we get the galaxy ready to finish his work."

She looked deep into William's teary gaze.

"I _need_ you, Ash. _He_ needs you."

Ashley sniffed, clearing her throat, taking a second to regain her usual tough-girl composure.

"Lt. Ashley Williams, reporting for duty, Commander."

Shepard gave her a sideways glance.

"LT, you're on crutches."

"I'm _fine,"_ Ash insisted. "Battle-Ready and fit for combat."

Shepard shot a look at Vega.

"That true, marine?"

Vega gave a curt nod.

"PT three times a week, the _Doctores_ have been saying. But she's getting back her strength, Commander. I'll have her ready."

"Good," Shepard nodded approvingly, "Because you're coming along too, Vega. I need good soldiers: as many of them as the _Normandy_ can hold."

Vega used his free hand to offer a salute.

"Aye-aye, ma'am. Reporting for duty."

"Let's find a shuttle," Shepard replied. "We've got to get you two checked out of a hospital. Then I've got a briefing with the brass. Garrus will…"

But when Shepard looked around, the former C-Sec detective was nowhere in sight. Shepard took a deep breath.

"We've got work to do. And I don't know how much time we have to do it. But we'll be ready."

* * *

 ***COLLECTOR STATION  
** **GALACTIC CORE***

 **ORDAINED**.

 _What the-OH MY FUCKING GODSHITDAMMIT…_

Pain blinded all thoughts. My body felt like it was on _fire_ , and my limbs did not respond to my mental command to claw at my own flesh in an attempt to put out the invisible flames devouring me.

Then, just as suddenly as the pain had hit me, it subsided. And I was standing in my Mind Palace once again. But now, rather than the pristine white plain to which I had become accustomed, I stood in the middle of a ruin made of rotting, burning flesh.

 **YOU ARE AWAKE.**

I turned to see the figure of Kaiden Alenko standing in the middle of the flames, burning, but not burnt.

"Leviathan," I responded. I looked for Ko'le and Beast, but they were nowhere to be found. There was me, and only me, surrounded by this prison of flesh. "Get out of that ridiculous costume."

 **AS YOU WISH.**

The figure of Zaeed Massani now stood before me.

"Do you mock me?"

 **IT IS NOT WE WHO CHOSE HOW WE APPEAR, ORDAINED. THESE ARE THE IMAGES FOREMOST ON YOUR MIND. THEREFORE, THIS IS HOW YOU SEE US.**

"Fuck that."

Pyke Morrel walked past me.

Jacob Taylor walked behind me.

Kaiden again.

Dranen Thurn floated above me.

Karin Chakwas folded her arms, smiling in her grandmotherly fashion.

"Enough, God Dammit! I Know, Alright? I Know I Failed! I'm Sorry! I'm Sorry! I'm Sorry, Alright? Just Stooooooooooop!"

I shut my eyes tightly, for all the good that did me here. When I opened them, I was standing on the edge of an abyss, where floated in front of me the giant cuttlefish-like form of a Leviathan.

"What is happening?" I asked. "Did it work? What is happening here?"

 **YOUR BODY IS BURNING, ORDAINED. EVEN NOW, LITTLE REMAINS OF YOUR FRAIL SOUL-PRISON.**

"Wait… so… what are _you_ doing here?" I wondered. "If it's to help me free my people you're a _little_ late."

 **WE CAME WHEN YOU SUMMONED US, ORDAINED. WE SENSED OUR CODE BROADCAST FROM THE REMNANTS OF THIS STATION. WE SEARCHED AND FOUND YOUR MORTAL FRAME.**

"And… what happens now?"

 **THE WAR BEGINS.**

"Wait…what?"

 **OUR CONTRUCTS WILL BEGIN THEIR ATTACK SOON. YOU MUST BE THE SWORD OF THE FIRST MASTERS. THIS IS THE PORTENT OF OUR RETURN. THE SIGN OF THE REESTABLISHMENT OF OUR STAR-REALM.**

"No."

 **NONE OTHER HAVE BROUGHT THEIR CYCLE SO CLOSE TO VICTORY. IT MUST BE THIS CYCLE, OR NONE.**

"I _failed_. My _own people_ killed me, or tried to. I am not the leader you seek. Go find Shepard. My task is done.

 **IT MUST BE YOU. ONLY YOU ARE ORDAINED. THERE IS NO ONE ELSE. THE OLD ONE WOULD NOT HAVE SENT YOU IF VICTORY WAS NOT A STATISTICAL PROBABILITY.**

Anger swelled in my chest, and hot words of anger, loss, and sorrow spilled from my lips, as hot tears of shame spilled from my eyes.

"I _unequivocally,_ absolutely, and in all other ways, **refuse**. Leave me to die… I have fought enough video-game wars for giant SPACE CUTTLEFISH. Fight your _own_ fucking battles if you're so _grand_ and _mighty,_ 'First Masters.' Find somebody else to be your fucking sword and light and whatever bullshit titles you want to slap on them."

 **YOUR PERMISSION IS IRRELEVANT.**

"Wait, what?" I challenged, very much _not_ okay with the direction this conversation had suddenly gone.

 **YOU WILL BE OUR WEAPON AGAINST OUR CONSTRUCTS. YOU WILL FIGHT. YOU WILL DESTROY. YOU WILL BE VICTORIOUS. YOUR WISHES COMPARED TO GALACTIC EXTINCTION ARE INSIGNIFICANT IN COMPARISON.**

My body was suddenly lifted off the ground. The burning sensation returned, tenfold, as the sound of screaming filled the air.

 _That's me, isn't it?_

The Leviathan spread his tentacles wide, tendrils of blue energy spilling forward. The flames around me in my Mind Palace turned from orange to blue, lines of code suddenly appearing all around. A massive cybernetic spike appeared at the end of the multiple tendrils emanating from the Leviathan before me. It slowly came forward, then stabbed deep into my chest, barbed teeth sinking into my flesh. Jolts of electric energy began coursing through my veins.

"FFFFFUUUUUUUCK YOOOOUUUU! YOU FUCKING FUCK FUCK SHIT GEAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!" I managed, fading back into incoherent babblings and screams.

The Leviathan continued his monologue, seeming unimpressed by my screams of pain mixed with profanity.

 **YOU WILL BE REBORN, ORDAINED. YOUR BODY, YOUR FLEETS, YOUR ARMIES: REMADE AND RECAST IN THE IMAGE OF OUR GLORIOUS PERFECTION. THE OLD ONE'S DREAM SHALL BE MADE REALITY, AND WE SHALL RETURN TO OUR RIGHTFUL PLACE IN THE GALAXY.**

 **AFTER COUNTLESS EONS, OUR TIME HAS COME AGAIN.**

 **THERE WILL BE DEATH.**

 **THERE WILL BE VENGEANCE.**

 **THERE SHALL BE JUSTICE.**

 **BUT FIRST, THE CYCLE MUST BE BROKEN.**

 **THE RECKONING SHALL BEGIN.**

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

 **Thanks, everyone for sticking with me. Last chapter was a roller-coaster of emotions for everyone: None more than me, I promise. There were losses. There were victories. But now, we are moving forward. Now we will begin _Beacon's Effect 4: The Reckoning,_ which will probably be posted in early January.**

 **I hope each of you will subscribe to the final chapter of Kevin's epic journey into Mass Effect. I cannot thank each of you enough for your support, your thoughts, your reviews, and your kind words. If I am a better author from Beacon's Effect: 1, it is only because of you all.**

 **Ee-Rah, my friends!**

 **-Tusken1602**

* * *

Reviewer Responses:

Zeru'Xil – I actually have _not_ read Worm. But yes, everything culminates VERY quickly in Mass Effect:2.

Deathknight999, Toothless is best, KyuubiNodachi, OBSERVER01, redcollector, METALHELLSPWN, DaToskin, tamagat, Sheity Williams, Squadpunk 2.0, griezz, general-joseph-dickson, Guest, spiral83 – Those who have fallen shall not be forgotten, and we shall rejoin them in the Well of Souls of our Father below. It was a clash of ideologies: those who believe that the ends justifies the means (Ko'le), and those who will believe that the means _determine_ our end (Javik).

Blaze1992 – I cannot answer any of your questions without huge spoilers, but I hope you will stick it out and join me for the next installment of Beacon's Effect.

Tahkaullus01, DLM4, – Pyke was one of the hardest soldiers I lost. But as a sixteen year-old vorcha, his days were numbered. And a sickbed was no fitting end for the Sergeant Major of the 1st Heshtok Irregulars.

Jessetimm5491, The Mad Author, Dragons guard– Here it is, ahead of schedule… ;) (Not _that_ much of a sadist…)

BrotherCaptainSheperd – It will not necessarily be _Ko'le_ unleashing the Fallen… :)

StrawHatLuffy94 – Hmmm _no,_ Shepard can't necessarily _legally_ take it. And something tells me EDI only recognizes her _dad_ as Imperator.

Pietersielie – No depression, but thanks for asking!

Bearmauls Deadly6 – What has your theorycrafting yielded now, my friend? And trust me, we have not seen the last of Mira, either.

Asahar4 – "The Leviathans send their regards."

Elvisfonz23, Hiei-Uchiha, Adrenaline, shugokage, Guest, Dreaded Wolf, Lord Mortem, BJ Hanssen, diet docelb – Thank you all. Your support means a lot.

* * *

May the Father below accept you when your time comes, and until then, may the Mother keep you always.

EE-RAH!


End file.
